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THROUGH  THE  DESERT 


Nell  and  Stasch 


THROUGH    THE 
DESERT 


By 
HENRYK  SIENKIEWICZ 


New  York,  CiNcnfNATi,  Chicago 

BENZIGER     BROTHERS 

PUBLISHERS   OF   BENZIGER's   MAGAZINE 

1912 


Copyright,  1912,  by  Benziger  Brothers 
IN  THE  United  States  and  Great  Britain 


-\  \  -.a 

S57wE 

?     Through  the  Desert 


N^ 


PART  I 

CHAPTER   I 

ELL,  do  you  know,"  said  Stasch  Tarkow- 
ski  to  his  friend,  an  English  girl,  "that 
yesterday  the  Sabties  (policemen)  arrested  the 
0^   wife  and  children  of  Overseer  Smain — the  same 
^    Fatima  who  often  visited  our  fathers'  offices?" 
.r:        Little  Nell,  as  pretty  as  a  picture,  looked  up 
^   at  Stasch  (Stanislaus)  with  her  greenish  eyes, 
and  half  astonished,  half  afraid,  asked: 
"Have  they  put  them  in  prison?" 
"No,  but  they  would  not  allow  them  to  travel 
to  Sudan,  and  an  officer  has  been  stationed  to 
watch  them  so  as  to  prevent  their  taking  a  step 
^^   outside  of  Port  Said." 
J       "Why?" 

I       Stasch,  who  was  now  fourteen  years  of  age, 
'^  was  much  attached  to  his  eight-year-old  com- 
rade.   He  regarded  her  merely  as  a  child,  and 
assuming  a  very  superior  air  answered : 

"When  you  are  as  old  as  I  am  you  will  know 

everything — what  is  taking  place  on  the  canal 

from  Port  Said  to  Suez,  and  all  over  Egypt." 

"Have  you  heard  anything  about  the  Mahdi? 

I've  heard  that  he  is  ugly  and  naughty." 

5 


'A'tk'l^V.'W 


6         THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

The  boy  smiled  condescendingly.  "I  don't 
know  whether  he  is  ugly  or  not.  The  Sudanese 
think  he  is  handsome;  but  to  call  a  man  who 
has  killed  so  many  people  'naughty' — that  is  a 
word  only  a  little  girl,  with  short  dresses  reach- 
ing down  to  her  knees,  would  use." 

"Papa  told  me  so,  and  papa  knows  best." 

"He  used  that  word  in  speaking  to  you  be- 
cause you  would  not  have  understood  anything 
else.  He  would  not  have  used  it  in  speaking  to 
me.  The  Mahdi  is  worse  than  a  hundred  croco- 
diles. Do  you  understand  what  I  say?  The 
word  'naughty'  is  a  good  word  to  use  when 
talking  to  little  children." 

But  when  he  saw  the  troubled  look  on  the 
child's  face  he  said:  "Nell,  you  know  that  I 
don't  want  to  vex  you.  The  time  is  coming 
when  you  will  be  fourteen,  too." 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  with  an  anxious  ex- 
pression. "What  if  the  Mahdi  should  take 
Port  Said,  and  eat  me?" 

"The  Mahdi  is  not  a  cannibal  and  therefore 
does  not  eat  people ;  he  murders  them  instead. 
Besides,  he  will  never  take  Port  Said ;  even  if  he 
did  capture  it,  and  were  to  try  to  kill  you,  he 
would  have  me  to  deal  with." 

This  assertion  he  made  in  a  snarling  tone, 
which  augured  no  good  to  the  Mahdi,  but  it 
had  the  effect  of  apparently  quieting  Nell  on 
the  subject.  "I  know,"  she  answered,  "that  you 
would  protect  me.  But  why  won't  they  allow 
Patima  to  leave  Port  Said?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT         7 

"Because  Fatima  is  the  Mahdi's  cousin.  Her 
husband  told  the  Egyptian  Government  at 
Cairo  that  he  would  travel  to  Sudan,  where  the 
Mahdi  was  staying,  for  the  purpose  of  freeing 
all  the  Europeans  who  had  fallen  into  his 
hands." 

"So  Smain  is  good,  then?" 

"Listen!  Our  fathers,  who  knew  Smain  very 
well,  had  no  confidence  in  him,  and  they 
warned  Nubar  Pasha  not  to  trust  him.  But 
the  government  was  willing  to  send  Smain 
there,  and  he  has  been  six  months  with  the 
Mahdi.  Still,  not  only  did  the  captives  not 
return,  but,  according  to  reports  from  Khar- 
tum, the  Mahdists  are  treating  them  most 
cruelly;  and  Smain,  after  having  received 
money  from  the  government,  has  turned 
traitor.  He  commanded  the  artillery  of  the 
Mahdi  in  the  dreadful  battle  in  which  General 
Hicks  fell,  and  he  taught  the  Mahdists  to  use 
cannon,  of  which  these  savages  knew  nothing 
before.  But  Smain  is  now  making  every  effort 
to  get  his  wife  and  children  out  of  Egypt. 
Fatima,  who  knew  beforehand  what  Smain 
was  trying  to  do,  is  said  to  have  attempted  to 
leave  Port  Said  secretly,  and  that  is  why  the 
government  has  imprisoned  her  and  her  chil- 
dren." 

"What  does  the  government  want  with 
Fatima  and  her  children?" 

"The  government  intends  to  say  to  the 
Mahdi :  *If  you  return  those  of  our  people  you 


8         THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

have  taken  prisoners,  we  will  give  up  Fatima.'  '* 
After  this  they  stopped  talking,  for  birds  fly- 
ing in  the  direction  from  Echtum  om-Farag 
toward  Lake  Menzaleh  attracted  Stasch's  at- 
tention. They  flew  rather  low  down  in  the 
clear  air,  and  many  pelicans  could  be  seen 
stretching  out  their  necks  and  slowly  flapping 
their  tremendous  wings.  Stasch  imitated  their 
flight  by  raising  his  head  very  high,  running 
along  the  dam,  and  waving  his  outstretched 
arms. 

"Look!  The  flamingoes  also  are  flying!" 
Nell  suddenly  exclaimed. 

Stasch  stopped  a  moment,  for  just  behind 
the  pelicans,  but  hovering  a  little  higher  in  the 
air,  might  be  seen  two  large  objects,  like  red 
and  rose-colored  flowers. 

"Toward  evening  they  fly  to  their  home  on 
the  small  island,"  said  the  boy.  "Oh,  if  I  only 
had  a  gun!" 

"Why  do  you  want  to  shoot  them?" 

"Women  never  understand  such  things,  but 
let  us  go  on;  perhaps  we  shall  see  some  more 
of  them." 

With  those  words  he  took  the  little  girl  by 
the  hand,  and  they  went  along  the  first  canal 
path  behind  Port  Said,  followed  by  Dinah,  a 
negress,  who  was  formerly  little  Nell's  nurse. 
They  went  along  the  embankment  that  con- 
fines the  waters  of  Lake  Menzaleh,  through 
which  a  pilot  had  just  taken  an  English 
steamer. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT  9 

Evening  was  approaching.  The  sun  was 
still  rather  high,  but  it  soon  set  below  the  lake, 
whose  salt  water  began  to  glimmer  like  gold 
and  assume  the  shimmering  hues  of  a  peacock's 
plume.  On  the  Arabian  shore,  as  far  as  eye 
could  see,  stretched  the  gloomy,  menacing, 
dead  desert.  Between  the  glassy  and  motion- 
less sky  and  the  shoreless,  furrowed  stretch  of 
sand  there  was  not  a  sign  of  any  living  creat- 
ure. While  the  canal  presented  a  scene  of 
great  commercial  activity — boats  gliding  past, 
steamers  whistling,  and  over  the  surface  of 
Lake  Menzaleh  flocks  of  sea-gulls  and  wild 
ducks  glistening  in  the  moonlight — on  the 
Arabian  shore  it  was  as  desolate  as  a  city  of 
the  dead.  But  the  lower  the  sun  sank,  the 
redder  the  west  became;  even  the  sand-dunes 
were  tinted  with  lilac  color,  resembling  the 
heather  found  in  the  autumn  woods  of  Poland. 

Walking  toward  the  landing,  the  children 
saw  several  more  flamingoes,  and  their  eyes 
fairly  danced  with  joy.  Then  Dinah  said  that 
Nell  must  go  home.  In  Egypt  the  days,  which 
even  in  winter  are  very  warm,  are  followed  by 
cold  nights,  and  as  Nell's  health  required  great 
care,  Mr.  Rawlison,  her  father,  did  not  allow 
the  child  to  remain  near  the  water  after  sun- 
down; so  they  returned  to  the  Rawlison  villa, 
at  the  extreme  end  of  the  town,  near  the  canal. 
Mr.  Tarkowski,  the  father  of  Stasch,  had 
been  invited  to  dine ;  he  came  in  soon  after,  and 
then  the  whole  company,  including  the  French 


10       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

woman,  Mrs.  Olivier,  Nell's  governess,  sat 
down  to  dinner. 

Mr.  Rawlison,  a  director  of  the  Suez  Canal 
Company,  and  Vladislaw  Tarkowski,  chief  en- 
gineer of  the  same  company,  had  been  very 
intimate  for  many  years.  Both  were  widowers. 
Mrs.  Tarkowski,  a  French  lady,  had  died  giv- 
ing birth  to  Stasch  thirteen  years  before. 
Nell's  mother  had  died  of  consumption  in 
Heluan  when  her  little  girl  was  three  years 
old.  The  two  widowers  lived  close  by  each 
other,  and  their  business  in  Port  Said  brought 
them  in  daily  contact.  Their  mutual  sorrows 
also  cemented  their  old  friendship.  Mr.  Raw- 
lison loved  Stasch  as  though  he  had  been  his 
own  son,  and  Mr.  Tarkowski  would  have  gone 
through  fire  and  water  for  little  Nell.  After 
their  day's  work  was  done  their  greatest 
pleasure  was  to  talk  about  the  education  and 
the  future  of  their  children.  While  they  were 
conversing  thus  Mr.  Rawlison  would  praise 
the  capability,  energy,  and  precocity  of  Stasch, 
and  Mr.  Tarkowski  express  himself  enthusi- 
astically about  Nell's  charm  and  her  little 
angel  face. 

Both  were  correct  in  their  views.  Stasch 
was  somewhat  conceited  and  boastful,  but 
quick  in  his  studies,  and  the  teachers  of  the 
English  school  in  Port  Said  prophesied  a  great 
future  for  him.  He  had  inherited  aptitude  and 
courage  from  his  father,  for  Mr-  Tarkowski 
possessed  these  qualities  in  a  marked  degree,  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       11 

to  them  he  owed  his  present  high  position.  He 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Polish  revolu- 
tion for  eleven  months,  then,  being  wounded 
and  taken  prisoner,  he  was  banished  to  Siberia, 
from  which  he  escaped  and  fled  to  a  foreign 
country. 

Before  joining  the  insurrectionists  he  was 
graduated  as  an  engineer.  A  year  after  his 
escape  he  spent  all  his  time  studying  hydrau- 
lics; then  he  obtained  a  position  on  the  canal, 
and  after  several  years,  when  his  thorough 
knowledge,  energy,  and  industry  had  become 
known,  he  was  promoted  to  the  position  of 
chief  engineer. 

Stasch  was  born  at  Port  Said,  on  the  banks 
of  the  canal,  was  brought  up  there,  and  had 
now  attained  his  fourteenth  year.  For  this 
reason  the  engineers  and  his  father's  colleague 
called  him  "The  Child  of  the  Desert."  Later, 
in  his  school  life,  at  vacation  time,  he  often 
accompanied  his  father  and  Mr.  Rawlison 
when  the}'^  went  on  short  business  trips  from 
Port  Said  to  Suez,  which  they  were  obliged  to 
do  in  order  to  superintend  the  workmen  on  the 
dam  and  to  direct  the  excavation  of  the  canal 
bed.  He  knew  all  the  engineers  and  the  custom- 
house officers,  as  well  as  the  workmen,  the 
Arabs,  and  the  negroes. 

He  went  everywhere,  even  where  no  one 
would  think  of  looking  for  him ;  he  made  long 
excursions  on  the  embankments,  rowed  his 
small  boat  on  Lake  Menzaleh,  and  often  wan- 


12       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

dered  far  away.  He  would  row  across  to  the 
Arabian  shore  and  catch  a  horse,  or  not  find- 
ing one,  he  would  take  a  camel,  or  even  a 
donkey,  to  aid  him  in  playing  the  fakir  in  the 
desert.  In  a  word,  as  Mr.  Tarkowski  would 
say,  he  ferreted  into  everything,  and  every  mo- 
ment he  had  free  from  his  studies  he  spent  on 
the  water.  His  father  did  not  remonstrate  with 
him,  for  he  knew  that  rowing,  riding,  and  out- 
door life  would  make  the  boy  more  robust  and 
develop  his  energies.  Stasch  was  taller  and 
stronger  than  most  boys  of  his  age.  One  glance 
at  his  eyes  was  enough  to  convince  any  one  that 
he  was  more  courageous  than  cowardly. 

In  his  fourteenth  year  he  was  the  best  swim- 
mer in  Port  Said,  which  is  saying  a  great  deal, 
for  the  Arabs  and  the  negroes  swim  like  fish. 
In  shooting  wild  ducks  and  Egyptian  geese 
with  his  small  gun  he  had  acquired  a  steady 
hand  and  a  true  eye. 

His  ambition  was  to  shoot  big  game  in  Cen- 
tral Africa,  and  he  listened  eagerly  to  the  tales 
told  by  the  Sudanese  working  on  the  canal,  who 
hunted  wild  beasts  in  their  native  country.  This 
intermingling  with  the  Sudanese  gave  him 
the  advantage  of  learning  their  languages. 

The  Suez  Canal  had  not  only  to  be  dug,  but 
also  to  be  constantly  watched;  otherwise  the 
sand  on  either  shore  would  fill  it  up  within  a 
year.  Lesseps'  great  work  demands  continual 
vigilance  and  care,  and  therefore  powerful 
machines  and  thousands   of  men  under  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       13 

supervision  of  skilful  engineers  are  still  labor- 
ing daily,  deepening  its  bed. 

In  excavating  the  canal  twenty-five  thou- 
sand workmen  were  employed,  but  now  that  it  is 
completed  and  machinery  is  so  much  improved, 
fewer  men  are  necessary.  There  are,  however, 
a  considerable  number  still  employed,  chiefly 
natives,  including  Nubians,  Sudanese,  Somalis, 
and  negroes  of  different  tribes  living  on  the 
White  and  Blue  Nile,  over  whom  the  Egyptian 
Government  had  ruled  before  the  revolt  of  the 
Mahdi.  Stasch  lived  on  friendly  terms  with  all 
of  them,  and,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  the 
Poles,  he  had  a  great  gift  for  languages ;  thus 
he  had  picked  up  many  of  their  dialects  with- 
out knowing  when  and  where.  Born  in  Egypt, 
he  spoke  Arabian  like  an  Arab.  From  the 
natives  of  Zanzibar,  who  served  as  firemen  on 
the  engines,  he  had  learned  the  language  which 
is  spoken  throughout  the  greater  part  of  Africa 
— the  Ki-swahili  dialect — and  he  could  make 
himself  understood  by  the  negroes  of  the  Dinka 
and  Schilluk  tribes,  who  inhabit  the  upper  half 
of  Fashoda,  on  the  Nile.  He  also  spoke  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  Polish  fluently;  his  father, 
an  ardent  patriot,  had  taken  great  care  that 
his  boy  should  be  familiar  with  his  own  tongue. 
Stasch  also  considered  this  the  most  beautiful 
of  all  languages,  and  he  was  successful  in  teach- 
ing it  to  little  Nell.  But  he  was  never  able 
to  make  her  pronounce  his  name  correctly.  She 
would  always  say  "Stes"  instead  of  Stasch, 


14       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  this  often  caused  a  misunderstanding, 
which  only  lasted  until  the  little  girl's  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  then  "Stes"  would  ask  her 
forgiveness,  and  was  usually  very  angry  with 
himself.  But  he  had  a  disagreeable  habit  of 
referring  disdainfully  to  her  eight  years,  and 
of  contrasting  his  age  and  experience  with  her 
youth.  He  asserted  that  a  boy  who  had  com- 
pleted his  thirteenth  year,  even  if  he  were  not 
entirely  grown  up,  was  at  least  no  longer  a 
child,  that  he  was  capable  of  accomplishing  all 
kinds  of  heroic  exploits,  especially  if  he  had 
Polish  and  French  blood  in  his  veins,  and  that 
he  ardently  wished  for  an  opportunity  to  do 
such  deeds,  especially  in  Nell's  defense.  Both 
children  imagined  all  sorts  of  dangers,  and 
Stasch  always  knew  how  to  meet  her  diffi- 
culties. For  instance,  what  he  would  do  were 
a  crocodile  a  dozen  yards  long,  or  a  scorpion 
as  large  as  a  dog,  to  creep  into  the  house 
through  the  window.  Neither  of  them  had  the 
least  idea  that  the  terrible  reality  was  soon  to 
exceed  their  most  fantastic  conjectures. 

CHAPTER   II 

IN  THE  meantime  welcome  news  awaited  them 
at  home.  Mr.  Tarkowski  and  Mr.  Rawli- 
son,  being  experienced  engineers,  had  been  in- 
vited a  few  weeks  before  to  inspect  and  report 
on  the  works  of  the  whole  canal  system  in  the 
province  of  El-Fayoum,   in  the  vicinity  of 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       15 

Medinet,  on  Lake  Karoon,  as  well  as  along  the 
Yoosuf  and  the  Nile  rivers.  They  were  going 
to  remain  there  nearly  a  month,  and  had  there- 
fore procured  leave  of  absence  from  their  own 
company.  As  Christmas  was  near,  they  both 
decided  that  they  would  not  leave  the  children, 
and  that  Stasch  and  Nell  should  accompany 
them  to  Medinet.  When  the  children  heard 
the  news  they  jumped  up  and  down  with  joy. 
Until  now  they  had  only  known  about  the  cities 
bordering  on  the  canal,  such  as  Ismailia  and 
Suez,  and,  on  the  other  side  of  the  lake,  Alex- 
andria and  Cairo,  from  which  they  had  visited 
the  great  Pyramids  and  the  Sphinx.  But  these 
were  short  excursions,  whereas  the  expedition 
to  Medinet-el-Fayoum  was  a  whole  day's  jour- 
ney by  train  along  the  Nile  to  the  south,  and 
then  from  El-Wasta  to  the  west  toward  the 
Libyan  desert.  Stasch  knew  Medinet  from 
the  description  given  by  the  younger  engineers 
and  travelers,  who  went  there  to  hunt  all  kinds 
of  waterfowl,  as  well  as  wolves  and  hyenas  in 
the  desert.  He  knew  that  the  town  was  a  large 
isolated  oasis  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Nile,  but 
that  it  was  independent  of  the  river's  overflow, 
having  a  water  system  of  its  own,  formed  by 
Lake  Karoon  and  the  Bahr- Yoosuf,  and  many 
small  canals.  Every  one  who  had  seen  the 
oasis  said  that  although  this  strip  of  land  be- 
longs to  Egypt,  it  is  separated  from  it  by  the 
desert,  and  seems  to  be  an  isolated  spot.  Only 
the  river  Yoosuf,  like  a  thin  blue  ribbon,  con- 


16       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

nects  this  district  with  the  Nile  valley.  The 
great  abundance  of  water,  the  fertility  of  the 
land,  and  the  luxuriant  vegetation  make  it  an 
earthly  paradise,  and  the  extensive  ruins  of  the 
ancient  city  of  Crocodilopolis  attract  hundreds 
of  curious  travelers.  Stasch  was  especially 
charmed  with  the  shores  of  Lake  Karoon, 
with  its  flocks  of  birds,  and  by  the  wolf -hunt- 
ing expeditions  in  the  desert  hills  of  Jebel-el- 
Sedment. 

Stasch's  vacation  would  not  begin  until  a 
few  days  later,  but  as  the  inspection  of  the 
works  on  the  canal  was  pressing,  the  fathers 
had  no  time  to  lose ;  so  it  was  decided  that  they 
were  to  leave  at  once,  and  that  the  children, 
together  with  Mrs.  Olivier,  should  follow  them 
a  week  later.  Nell  and  Stasch  wanted  to  start 
at  once,  but  Stasch  did  not  venture  to  coax 
to  go  with  them.  For  this  reason  they  began 
to  study  and  to  inform  themselves  about  every- 
thing concerning  the  journey,  and  it  was  with 
great  joy  that  they  learned  they  would  not 
have  to  live  in  uncomfortable  hotels  kept  by 
Greeks,  but  in  tents  placed  at  their  disposal  by 
Messrs.  Cook  &  Co.,  traveling  agents.  For 
travelers  from  Cairo  to  Medinet,  and  also  for 
people  who  intend  staying  there  for  any  length 
of  time,  the  company  supplies  tents,  servants, 
cooks,  provisions,  horses,  camels,  donkeys,  and 
guides,  so  as  to  relieve  the  traveler  of  all  care. 
This  is  indeed  an  expensive  way  of  traveling, 
but  Mr.  Tarkowski  and  Mr.  Rawlison  were 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       17 

not  obliged  to  think  of  this,  because  all 
expenses  were  paid  by  the  Egyptian  Gov- 
ernment, which  had  asked  them,  as  ex- 
perts, to  inspect  and  report  on  the  canal 
works. 

Nell,  whose  greatest  pleasure  was  riding  a 
camel,  made  her  father  promise  to  get  her  one, 
on  which  she,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Olivier 
or  Dinah,  and  sometimes  Stasch,  might  go 
along  with  the  excursions  to  the  borders  of  the 
desert  and  to  Lake  Karoon.  Mr.  Tarkowski 
promised  Stasch  that  some  time  he  would  allow 
him  to  hunt  wolves  by  night,  and  if  he  received 
a  good  report  at  school  he  would  get  him  a 
genuine  English  shotgun  and  an  entire  hunting 
outfit.  As  Stasch  was  sure  of  having  a  good 
report,  he  immediately  imagined  himself  the 
possessor  of  the  gun,  and  resolved  to  accom- 
plish difficult  and  wonderful  and  unheard-of 
deeds. 

The  happy  children  conversed  about  these 
things  and  made  plans  during  the  entire  din- 
ner. Mrs.  Olivier  was  not  at  all  enthusiastic 
about  the  coming  journey,  for  she  felt  no  de- 
sire to  leave  the  comfortable  villa  in  Port  Said. 
At  the  very  thought  of  living  in  tents,  and 
especially  at  the  prospect  of  taking  excursions 
on  camels,  she  began  to  be  frightened.  She 
had  made  several  attempts  to  take  similar 
rides — such  as  Europeans  living  in  Egypt 
usually  take — but  it  had  always  ended  disas- 
trously.    Once  the  camel  had  stood  up  too 


18        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

soon,  and  as  she  had  not  settled  herself  in  the 
saddle  she  slid  from  his  back  to  the  ground. 
Another  time  a  dromedary,  which  is  not  accus- 
tomed to  light  burdens,  shook  her  up  so  that 
she  did  not  recover  for  two  days.  Nell,  on  the 
other  hand,  after  two  or  three  rides  that  her 
father  had  allowed  her  to  take,  declared  that 
there  was  nothing  in  the  world  more  delightful. 
But  Mrs.  Olivier  had  nothing  but  unpleasant 
memories  of  her  rides.  She  said  that  it  was 
all  right  for  Arabs,  or  for  such  little  crabs  as 
Nell,  who  felt  the  shaking  no  more  than  a  fly 
that  had  alighted  on  the  camel's  hump;  but 
for  older  people,  the  serious  and  rather  heavy 
people  who  are  sure  to  be  seasick,  it  was  a  very 
different  matter. 

But  she  also  had  other  reasons  to  be  alarmed 
when  she  thought  of  Medinet-el-Fayoum.  In 
Port  Said,  as  well  as  in  Alexandria,  Cairo,  and 
in  fact  throughout  Egypt,  people  talked  of 
nothing  else  but  the  revolt  of  the  Mahdi  and 
of  the  cruel  deeds  of  the  Dervishes.  Although 
Mrs.  Olivier  did  not  exactly  know  where 
Medinet  was,  she  felt  uneasy  lest  it  might  be  in 
too  close  proximity  to  the  Mahdists,  and  at 
last  she  asked  Mr.  Rawlison. 

But  he  only  smiled  and  said: 

"The  Mahdi  is  at  present  besieging  Khar- 
tum, which  is  defended  by  General  Gordon. 
Do  you  know  how  far  it  is  from  Medinet  to 
Khartum?" 

"I  have  not  the  least  idea." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       19 

"About  as  far  as  from  here  to  Sicily,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Tarkowski. 

"Almost,"  corrected  Stasch.  "Khartum  lies 
at  the  junction  of  the  White  Nile  and  the  Blue 
Nile.  Much  of  Egypt  and  the  whole  length  of 
Abyssinia  separate  us  from  it." 

He  was  on  the  point  of  adding  that  even  if 
Medinet  lay  nearer  the  districts  most  affected 
by  the  insurrection,  he  would  always  be  there 
with  his  rifle,  but  when  he  remembered  that  he 
had  been  repeatedly  reproved  by  his  father  for 
similar  bragging  he  was  silent. 

The  two  fathers  began  conversing  about  the 
Mahdi  and  the  insurrection,  for  this  was  the 
most  important  news  concerning  Egypt.  The 
news  from  Khartum  was  not  encouraging. 
The  savage  tribes  had  now  besieged  the  town 
for  nearly  a  month  and  a  half.  The  English 
and  Egyptian  government  officials  were  slow 
to  act;  the  relief  army  had  scarcely  started; 
and  everybody  thought  that,  notwithstanding 
Gordon's  fame,  heroism,  and  ability,  this  im- 
portant town  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
barbarians.  Mr.  Tarkowski,  who  suspected 
that  England  would  be  only  too  glad  if  the 
Mahdi  were  to  conquer  southern  Egypt,  so 
that  they  might  recapture  it  from  the  Mahdi 
and  convert  this  enormous  tract  into  an  Eng- 
lish settlement,  was  of  the  same  opinion.  But 
he  did  not  say  this  to  Mr.  Rawlison  for  fear 
of  wounding  his  patriotic  feelings. 

When  the  dinner  was  nearly  finished,  Stasch 


20       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

inquired  why  the  Egyptian  Government  had 
annexed  all  the  land  south  of  Nubia — Kordo- 
fan,  Darfur,  and  Sudan  as  far  as  the  Albert- 
Nyanza,  and  why  it  had  robbed  the  inhab- 
itants of  their  liberty.  Mr.  Rawlison  deter- 
mined to  explain  this  to  him,  because  every 
move  by  the  Egyptian  Government  was  made 
at  the  command  of  England,  which  had  ex- 
tended her  protectorate  over  Egypt  and  ruled 
it  as  she  pleased. 

"The  Egyptian  Government  has  deprived 
no  one  of  his  liberty,"  said  he,  "but  instead  has 
returned  it  to  hundreds,  thousands,  and  per- 
haps millions.  A  short  time  ago  there  were  no 
independent  towns  in  Kordofan,  Darfur,  and 
Sudan,  except  here  and  there  where  some 
small  potentate  asserted  his  rights  to  several 
districts  and  appropriated  them  by  force, 
against  the  will  of  the  inhabitants.  But  on  the 
whole  they  were  inhabited  by  independent 
tribes  of  Arabo-Negroes ;  that  is  to  say,  by 
people  having  the  blood  of  both  these  races  in 
their  veins.  These  tribes  were  perpetually 
fighting  with  one  another.  They  would  attack 
one  another,  steal  horses,  cattle,  and  especially 
slaves.  At  the  same  time  many  atrocious  deeds 
were  committed,  but  the  most  desperate  of 
these  men  were  those  who  hunted  for  ivory  and 
for  slaves.  They  formed,  as  it  were,  a  class 
apart,  and  to  this  class  nearly  all  the  chiefs  of 
the  tribes  and  the  prosperous  merchants  be- 
longed.   These  men  led  armed  reconnoitering 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       21 

parties  into  the  interior  of  Africa,  and  stole 
ivory  tusks  and  took  thousands  of  people — 
men,  women,  and  children — captive.  They 
also  destroyed  villages,  settlements,  and  fields, 
and  spilled  rivers  of  blood;  they  mercilessly 
massacred  every  one  who  made  any  show  of 
resistance;  so  much  so  that  the  southern  part 
of  Sudan,  Darfur,  and  Kordofan,  and  also  the 
districts  of  the  upper  Nile  as  far  as  the  lakes, 
were  almost  depopulated  in  places.  But  the 
Arabs  advanced  still  farther,  so  that  nearly 
the  whole  of  central  Africa  was  converted  into 
a  vale  of  tears  and  blood.  Therefore  England, 
which,  as  you  know,  pursues  all  slave  dealers 
in  every  part  of  the  world,  agreed  that  the 
Egyptian  Government  should  occupy  Kordo- 
fan, Darfur,  and  Sudan,  for  that  was  the 
only  way  to  force  these  thieves  to  stop  their 
gruesome  slave-trading.  The  unhappy  negroes 
breathed  freely  once  more,  and,  as  they  were 
no  longer  afraid  of  being  robbed  and  attacked, 
they  settled  down  to  some  degree  of  law  and 
order.  Apparently  this  state  of  affairs  did 
not  please  the  traders,  so  when  Mohammed 
Achmed — now  called  the  Mahdi — appeared  in 
their  midst,  under  the  pretext  that  Mohamme- 
danism in  Egypt  was  on  the  decline,  and  pro- 
claimed the  Holy  War,  all  the  men  of  one 
accord  took  up  arms,  and  thus  the  terrible  war 
began,  in  which,  until  now,  the  Egyptians  have 
fared  very  badly.  The  Mahdi  has  beaten  the 
Egyptian  troops  in  every  battle,  and  has  taken 


22        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

possession  of  Kordofan,  Darfur,  and  Su- 
dan ;  his  tribes  are  now  besieging  Khartum  and 
advancing  as  far  north  as  the  borders  of 
Nubia." 

"And  is  it  possible  that  they  can  reach 
Egypt?"  asked  Stasch. 

"No,"  answered  Mr.  Rawlison.  "The 
Mahdi,  it  is  true,  has  proclaimed  that  he  will 
conquer  the  whole  world,  but  he  is  a  barbarian 
and  does  not  know  what  he  is  talking  about. 
He  can  not  conquer  Egypt,  for  England  will 
not  permit  it." 

"But  suppose  the  Egyptian  army  be 
worsted?" 

"Then  the  English  troops,  which  are  in- 
vincible, will  appear  on  the  scene." 

"And  why  did  England  permit  the  Mahdi 
to  take  possession  of  so  many  districts?" 

"How  do  you  know  that  she  permitted  him?" 
answered  Mr.  Rawlison.  "England  never  acts 
in  haste,  for  she  is  a  great  nation." 

The  conversation  was  now  interrupted  by 
the  negro  servant,  who  announced  that  Fatima 
Smain  was  there  and  that  she  earnestly  begged 
an  audience.  The  women  of  the  Orient  prac- 
tically confine  their  energies  to  household  mat- 
ters, and  rarely  leave  the  harem.  Only  the 
poorer  ones  go  to  market  or  work  in  the  fields 
like  the  wives  of  the  fellahs  (Egyptian  peas- 
ants), and  they  veil  their  faces.  In  Sudan, 
where  Fatima  came  from,  this  was  not  the 
custom,  and  although  she  had  been  to  Mr. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       23 

Rawlison's  office  before,  her  appearance  in  a 
private  house,  and  especially  at  this  late  hour, 
seemed  rather  peculiar. 

"We  shall  learn  something  new  about 
Smain,"  said  Mr.  Tarkowski. 

"Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Rawlison,  at  the  same 
time  motioning  the  servant  to  usher  in  Fatima. 

In  a  few  seconds  there  appeared  a  tall,  young 
Sudanese  woman;  her  dark,  beautiful  face, 
with  its  wild,  tragic,  and  prophetic  eyes, 
was  unveiled.  On  entering  she  immediately 
fell  on  her  face,  and  when  Mr.  Rawlison 
ordered  her  to  arise  she  assumed  a  kneeling 
position. 

"Sidi,"  she  began,  "may  Allah  bless  you, 
your  heirs,  your  house,  and  your  flocks." 

"What  do  you  want?"  asked  the  engineer. 

"Pity,  deliverance,  and  help  in  time  of 
trouble.  Oh,  sir,  I  am  imprisoned  in  Port 
Said,  and  destruction  hovers  over  me  and  my 
children !" 

"You  say  you  are  imprisoned,  and  yet  you 
are  able  to  come  here  even  at  night." 

"The  Sabties,  who  guard  my  house  day  and 
night,  led  me  here,  and  I'm  sure  they  have  been 
ordered  to  cut  off  our  heads  very  soon." 

"Talk  like  a  sensible  woman,"  answered 
Mr.  Rawlison,  frowning.  "You  are  not  in 
Sudan,  but  in  Egypt,  where  no  one  is  killed 
without  a  judicial  sentence,  and  so  you  can 
rest  assured  that  not  a  hair  of  your  head  or  of 
your  children's  will  be  touched." 


24        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

However,  she  besought  him  once  more  to  in- 
tercede for  her  with  the  Egyptian  Government, 
and  obtain  permission  for  her  to  travel  to  meet 
Smain.  "The  English  are  as  great  as  you,  sir," 
she  said ;  "they  are  able  to  accomplish  anything. 
The  government  in  Cairo  thinks  that  Smain  is 
guilty  of  treason,  but  that  is  not  true.  Yester- 
day I  talked  with  Arabian  merchants,  who 
came  from  Suakim,  after  having  bought  rubber 
and  ivory  in  Sudan,  and  they  told  me  that 
Smain  lies  ill  in  El-Fasher  and  bids  me  and 
the  children  come  to  him,  so  that  he  may  bless 
us." 

"Fatima,  you  have  invented  this  tale,"  in- 
terrupted Mr.  Rawlison. 

She  now  began  to  protest  by  Allah  that  she 
was  telling  the  truth,  and  then  she  said  that 
were  Smain  to  recover  he  would  certainly  buy 
the  freedom  of  all  the  Christian  prisoners,  and 
if  he  were  to  die  then  she — as  a  relative  of  the 
leader  of  the  Dervishes — would  easily  gain 
admission  to  him,  and  be  able  to  obtain  any- 
thing she  asked.    If  only  she  might  travel  to 
join  her  husband,  for  her  heart  bled  longii 
to  see  him!    What  had  she,  unhappy  woma 
done  against  the  government  or  the  Khediv 
She  asked  if  it  were  her  fault,  and  if  she  couj 
have  prevented  her  misfortune  in  being  tl 
relative  of  the  Dervish,  Mohammed  Achmeo 

Fatima  did  not  dare,  before  Englishmen,  t 
call  her  relative  "the  Mahdi,"  as  that  nam 
means  "Saviour  of  the  World";  and  she  knev 


"Her  dark,  beautiful  face,  with  its  wild,  prophetic 
eyes,  was  unveiled.  When  Mr.  Rawlison  ordered  her 
to  arise  she  assumed  a  kneeling  position." — Page  23. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       25 

that  the  Egyptian  Government  looked  upon 
him  as  a  rebel  and  a  schemer.  Continually 
bowing  and  calling  on  heaven  to  witness  her 
innocence  and  her  misfortune,  she  began  to 
weep  piteously,  just  as  women  of  the  Orient 
are  accustomed  to  do  on  the  death  of  their 
husbands  or  sons.  Then  she  threw  herself  on 
her  face  on  the  ground,  or,  speaking  more  cor- 
rectly, on  the  carpet  which  covered  the  inlaid 
floor,  and  remained  silent. 

Nell,  who  had  felt  somewhat  sleepy  toward 
the  end  of  dinner,  was  now  wide  awake,  and, 
as  she  had  a  kind  heart,  she  took  her  father's 
hand,  and  kissing  it  over  and  over  again, 
begged  him  to  say  a  word  in  Fatima's  be- 
half. 

"Won't  you  help  her,  papa?    Help  her!" 

And  Fatima,  who  seemed  to  understand 
English,  said  between  her  sobs,  without  raising 
her  head  from  the  carpet: 

"May  Allah  bless  you,  you  little  flower  of 
paradise,  Omaj's  delight!  Little  star  without 
blemish!" 

Although  Stasch  in  his  heart  of  hearts  was 
very  angry  with  the  Mahdists,  he  was  touched 
by  Fatima's  request  and  by  her  sorrow.  Be- 
sides, Nell  had  spoken  for  her,  and  he  always 
ended  by  doing  what  she  wanted,  and  so  he 
said  in  an  undertone,  but  still  loud  enough  for 
all  to  hear: 

"If  I  were  the  government,  I  would  allow 
Fatima  to  leave." 


26       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"But  as  you  are  not  the  government,"  an- 
swered Mr.  Tarkowski,  "you  had  better  not 
interfere  in  things  that  don't  concern  you." 

Mr.  Rawlison  also  had  a  compassionate 
heart,  and  he  felt  much  sympathy  for  Fatima, 
but  various  things  she  had  said  seemed  to  him 
to  be  downright  lies.  As  he  practically  did 
business  daily  in  connection  with  the  custom- 
house in  Ismailia,  he  knew  very  well  that  no 
cargoes  of  rubber  or  ivory  had  passed  through 
the  canal  lately.  The  trade  in  these  goods  had 
almost  ceased.  Besides,  he  knew  that  Arabian 
merchants  could  not  return  from  the  town 
El-Fasher,  in  Sudan,  for  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  war  the  Mahdists  absolutely  re- 
fused to  let  merchants  pass,  and  those  they 
caught  they  robbed  and  took  prisoners.  Be- 
sides, it  was  almost  certain  that  the  tale  of 
Smain's  illness  was  a  lie. 

But  as  Nell  continued  to  look  beseechingly 
at  her  father,  the  latter,  not  wishing  to  sadden 
the  girl,  said  to  Fatima: 

"Fatima,  I  have,  as  you  requested,  written 
to  the  government,  but  have  received  no  an- 
swer as  yet.  And  now  listen.  To-morrow 
we  are  going  with  the  Mehendis  (engineers) 
to  Medinet-el-Fayoum.  On  the  way  we  shall 
remain  a  day  in  Cairo,  for  the  Khedive  wishes 
to  speak  to  us  and  give  us  orders  about  things 
concerning  the  canal,  which  is  being  directed 
from  Bahr-Yoosuf.  During  the  conversation 
I  will  try  to  tell  him  your  position  and  gain  his 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       2T 

good  will  for  you;  but  I  can  do  no  more,  and 
I  can  not  promise  anything." 

Fatima  arose,  and  stretching  out  both  hands 
in  thanks,  she  cried  out: 

"And  so  I'm  saved!" 

"No,  Fatima,"  replied  Mr.  Rawlison,  "do 
not  speak  of  deliverance,  for  I  have  already 
told  you  that  neither  you  nor  your  children 
are  threatened  with  death.  But  whether  or  not 
the  Khedive  will  permit  you  to  depart  I  can 
not  tell,  for  Smain  is  not  ill,  but  a  traitor,  who, 
after  having  taken  with  him  the  government's 
money,  has  not  the  least  idea  of  redeeming  the 
prisoners  taken  by  Mohammed  Achmed." 

"Sir,  Smain  is  innocent,  and  he  is  in  El- 
Fasher,"  repeated  Fatima;  "and  even  if  he  had 
been  unfaithful  to  the  government,  I  swear  to 
you,  my  benefactor,  that  if  I  am  permitted  to 
leave  I  shall  plead  with  Mohammed  until  I  have 
succeeded  in  making  him  release  your  prisoners." 

"Very  well;  I  promise  you  once  more  that  I 
will  intercede  for  you  with  the  Khedive." 

Fatima  began  to  bow  very  low. 

"Sidi,  I  thank  you.  You  are  not  only  power- 
ful, but  just.  And  now  I  beg  you  to  let  us 
serve  you  as  slaves." 

"In  Egypt  there  are  no  slaves,"  answered 
Mr.  Rawlison  with  a  smile.  "I  have  servants 
enough,  and  besides,  I  would  not  be  able  to 
give  you  a  position  as  servant,  for,  as  I  have 
already  told  you,  we  are  going  to  Medinet,  and 
we  may  stay  there  till  the  feast  of  Ramadan." 


28        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Sir,  I  know  it,  for  the  overseer  Chadigi  told 
me;  and  when  I  heard  it  I  not  only  came  to 
heg  you  for  help,  but  also  to  tell  you  that  two 
men  of  my  tribe  (the  Dangali),  Idris  and 
Gebhr,  are  camel-drivers  in  Medinet,  and  that 
as  soon  as  you  reach  there  they  will  place  them- 
selves and  their  camels  at  your  disposal." 

"Good,  good!"  answered  the  director;  "but 
the  Cook  Company  is  attending  to  all  these 
details  for  us." 

Kissing  the  hands  of  the  two  gentlemen  and 
the  children,  Fatima  departed,  blessing  Nell  as 
she  went.  The  two  engineers  were  silent  for 
a  while  and  then  Mr.  Rawlison  said: 

"Poor  woman!  She  tells  lies  such  as  no 
one  outside  of  the  Orient  would  dream  of. 
Even  in  her  shower  of  thanks  a  false  note  is 
heard." 

"Certainly,"  answered  Mr.  Tarkowski. 
"But  it  is  also  true  that,  whether  Smain  be  a 
traitor  or  not,  the  government  has  no  right  to 
detain  her  in  Egypt,  for  she  is  not  responsible 
for  her  husband's  acts." 

"The  government  at  this  time  does  not  per- 
mit any  Sudanese  to  travel  to  Suakim  and 
Nubia  without  permission,  and  this  does  not 
apply  to  Fatima  only.  There  are  many  Su- 
danese in  Egypt;  they  came  here  to  make 
money,  and  among  them  are  a  certain  number 
belonging  to  the  Dangali  tribe,  from  which  the 
Mahdi  comes.  For  instance,  to  it  belong  not 
only  Fatima,  but  Chadigi  and  those  two  camel- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       29 

drivers  in  Medinet.  The  Mahdists  say  the 
Egyptians  are  Turks,  and  are  at  war  with 
them,  and  among  the  Arabs  settled  here  are 
numerous  followers  of  the  Mahdi,  who  would 
like  to  go  over  to  his  side  if  they  dared.  They 
include  all  fanatics,  all  followers  of  Arabi 
Pasha,  and  many  of  the  poorer  classes.  They 
are  at  outs  with  the  government  for  having 
submitted  to  English  influence,  and  pretend 
their  religion  suffers  in  consequence.  Heaven 
knows  how  many  have  already  fled  by  way  of 
the  desert,  and  by  so  doing  have  avoided  the 
usual  water  route  to  Suakim,  and  as  the  gov- 
ernment found  out  that  Fatima  had  attempted 
to  escape  also,  it  ordered  her  to  be  placed  under 
guard.  Only  by  exchanging  her  and  her  chil- 
dren— as  they  are  related  to  the  Mahdi — for 
our  men  captured  by  them  may  we  hope  to  get 
them  back." 

"Do  the  lower  classes  in  Egypt  really  sym- 
pathize with  the  Mahdi?" 

"The  Mahdi  has  followers  even  among  our 
soldiers,  and  perhaps  that  is  the  reason  they 
fight  so  badly." 

"But  how  can  the  Sudanese  escape  by  way 
of  the  desert?  It  is  thousands  of  miles  long." 

"And  yet  slaves  have  been  brought  into 
Egypt  that  way." 

"I  do  not  believe  that  Fatima's  children 
could  stand  a  journey  like  that." 

"But  she  will  make  it  shorter  by  crossing 
over  to  Suakim." 


30       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"All  the  same,  she  is  a  poor  woman." 

Thus  the  conversation  ended. 

And  twelve  hours  later,  after  the  "poor 
woman"  had  carefully  locked  herself  in  her 
house  with  the  son  of  the  overseer  Chadigi, 
with  raised  eyebrows  and  a  lowering  glance  in 
her  lovely  eyes,  she  whispered : 

"Chamis,  son  of  Chadigi,  take  this  money; 
start  to-day  for  Medinet,  and  give  Idris  this 
writing,  which,  at  my  request,  the  holy  Dervish 
Ballali  wrote  to  him.  The  children  of  these 
Mehendisi  are  good  (i.e.,  good  material  to  be 
used  to  further  our  ends) — there  is  no  other 
way — if  I  can  not  gain  permission  to  travel-  I 
know  that  you  will  not  betray  me.  .  .  .  Re- 
member that  you  and  your  father  belong  to  the 
Dangali  tribe,  the  same  tribe  to  which  the 
Mahdi  belongs." 


CHAPTER   III 

ON  THE  following  day  the  two  engineers  left 
for  Cairo  to  visit  the  English  residents, 
and  also  to  have  an  audience  with  the  viceroy. 
Stasch  calculated  that  this  might  take  two 
days;  he  was  right,  for  on  the  evening  of  the 
third  day  he  received  the  following  telegram, 
sent  from  Medinet  by  his  father:  "The  tents 
are  ready.  Start  when  your  holidays  begin. 
Send  word  to  Fatima  by  Chadigi  that  we  were 
unable  to  do  anything  for  her."    Mrs.  Olivier 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       31 

received  a  similar  telegram,  and  so  she,  assisted 
by  Dinah,  began  at  once  to  prepare  for  the 
journey.  The  children  were  overjoyed  to  see 
the  packing  going  on,  but  suddenly  something 
occurred  that  upset  all  their  plans  and  came 
near  preventing  their  departure.  For  during 
the  first  day  of  Stasch's  winter  vacation,  on  the 
evening  of  which  they  had  planned  to  make 
their  departure,  Mrs.  Ohvier,  when  taking  her 
afternoon  nap  in  the  garden,  was  bitten  by  a 
scorpion,  and  although  the  bite  of  this  poison- 
ous creature  is  not  so  dangerous  in  Egypt,  in 
this  case  it  might  prove  very  serious.  The 
scorpion  had  crept  over  the  back  of  a  canvas 
chair  and  bitten  her  in  the  neck  just  as  she  had 
mashed  it  with  her  head;  and  as  she  had  for- 
merly suffered  from  erysipelas,  it  was  feared 
that  she  might  have  a  relapse.  A  doctor  was 
immediately  summoned,  but  as  he  was  busy 
elsewhere,  he  did  not  arrive  for  two  hours.  By 
this  time  her  neck  and  even  her  face  were  swol- 
len, and  she  had  a  fever  accompanied  by  the 
usual  symptoms  of  poison.  The  doctor  ex- 
plained that  under  these  circumstances  she 
must  not  dream  of  going,  and  he  ordered  her  to 
bed;  and  so  it  seemed  as  though  the  children 
would  have  to  spend  their  Christmas  at  home. 
But  to  Nell's  credit  be  it  said,  she  thought  more 
— especially  at  first — about  the  sufferings  of 
her  governess  than  the  pleasures  she  would 
miss  by  not  going  to  Medinet.  But  when  she 
realized  that  she  could  not  see  her  father  again 


32       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

for  several  weeks  she  wept  in  secret.  Stasch 
did  not  take  the  matter  so  philosophically,  and 
so  he  sent  a  telegram  followed  by  a  letter  ask- 
ing what  was  to  be  done.  Mr.  Rawlison,  after 
having  communicated  with  the  doctor  and 
learning  from  him  that  there  was  no  immedi- 
ate danger  and  that  he  had  only  forbidden 
Mrs.  Olivier  to  leave  Port  Said  because  he 
feared  the  erysipelas  might  set  in  again,  first 
arranged  for  her  to  have  every  care  and  com- 
fort and  then  gave  the  children  permission  to 
start  on  the  journey  with  Dinah.  But  as 
Dinah,  notwithstanding  her  boundless  affec- 
tion for  Nell,  was  scarcely  competent  to  take 
charge  of  the  journey  and  make  arrangements 
for  them  in  the  hotel,  Stasch  was  to  be  guide 
and  cashier.  One  can  readily  imagine  how 
proud  he  was  of  this  role,  and  with  what  lordly 
pride  he  assured  Nell  that  not  a  hair  of  her 
head  would  be  touched,  as  if  the  road  to  Cairo 
and  Medinet  presented  no  difficulties  or 
dangers. 

As  everything  was  now  ready,  the  children 
left  that  very  day,  traveling  by  the  canal  to 
Ismailia,  and  from  there  by  train  to  Cairo, 
where  they  were  to  spend  the  night  and  be 
ready  to  go  on  to  Medinet  the  following  day. 
When  they  left  Ismailia  they  saw  Timsah 
Lake,  which  Stasch  had  seen  before;  for  Mr. 
Tarkowski,  who  was  a  very  enthusiastic  hunter 
in  his  leisure  hours,  sometimes  took  him 
along  to  shoot  water-birds.    Then  the  road  fol- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       33 

lowed  the  Wadi  Tumilat,  close  by  the  fresh- 
water canal  which  connects  the  Nile  with  Is- 
mailia  and  Suez.  This  canal  was  dug  before 
the  Suez  Canal ;  if  it  had  not  been,  the  workmen 
employed  in  Lesseps'  great  undertaking  would 
not  have  had  a  drop  of  water  to  drink.  The 
digging  of  this  canal  had  another  good  result: 
the  stretch  of  land,  which  had  been  a  barren 
waste  before,  now  blossomed  once  more  when 
the  wide  and  rapid  stream  of  fresh  water 
flowed  through  it.  From  the  car  windows  the 
children  saw  a  large  belt  of  vegetation  on  the 
left  side,  consisting  of  meadows  on  which 
horses,  camels,  and  sheep  were  grazing,  and 
plowed  fields,  Turkish  wheat,  millet,  alfa, 
and  other  species  of  grain  and  field  plants.  On 
the  bank  of  the  canal  could  be  seen  all  kinds 
of  wells,  above  which  were  large  wheels  fitted 
up  with  pails  or  ordinary  cranes  that  drew  up 
the  water,  which  the  fellahs  assiduously  spread 
over  the  beds  or  carried  away  in  barrels  on  little 
wagons  drawn  by  buffaloes.  Over  the  sprout- 
ing grain-seeds  hovered  doves  and  sometimes 
flocks  of  quail.  On  the  edges  of  the  canal 
storks  and  cranes  walked  gravely  up  and  down. 
In  the  distance,  over  the  clay  huts  of  the 
fellahs,  towered  crowns  of  date-palms  that 
looked  like  large  feather  dusters. 

On  the  other  hand,  north  of  the  railway  lay 
a  wilderness,  but  it  did  not  resemble  the  one  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Suez  Canal.  That  looked 
like  the  fiat  sandy  bed  of  a  dried-up  sea,  while 


34        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

here  the  sand  was  more  yellow,  and  was  piled 
up  into  large  hillocks  covered  with  scanty  vege- 
tation. Between  these  hillocks,  which  in  places 
attained  a  great  height,  lay  broad  valleys, 
through  which  now  and  then  caravans  were 
seen  passing. 

From  the  car  windows  the  children  saw 
loaded  camels  walking  single  file  in  a  long  line. 
In  front  of  each  camel  strode  an  Arab  in  black 
coat  and  white  turban.  Little  Nell  remem- 
bered the  pictures  she  had  seen  in  the  Bible  at 
home,  which  represented  the  Israelites  and  de- 
scribed how  they  journeyed  to  Egypt  in  the 
time  of  Joseph.  They  seemed  just  like  these 
men.  Unfortunately,  she  could  not  get  a  very 
good  look  at  the  caravans,  because  two  English 
officers  sat  near  the  windows,  which  obstructed 
her  view. 

She  had  no  sooner  told  Stasch  of  this  than, 
turning  to  the  officers,  very  seriously,  and 
touching  his  hat,  he  said: 

"Gentlemen,  would  you  mind  making  room 
for  this  little  lady,  who  would  like  to  look  at 
the  camels?" 

The  two  officers  listened  with  all  due  serious- 
ness, and  one  of  them  not  only  made  room  for 
the  curious  "little  lady,"  but  lifted  her  up  and 
put  her  on  the  seat  next  the  window. 

Stasch  immediately  began  to  lecture. 

"That  is  the  old  district  of  Gessen,"  said 
Stasch,  "that  Pharao  gave  Joseph  for  his 
brethren,  the  Israelites.     Once,  in  fact  very 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       35 

long  ago,  there  was  a  fresh-water  canal  here, 
so  that  this  new  one  is  only  the  old  one  rebuilt. 
Later  it  was  destroyed  and  the  country  became 
a  desert.  Now  the  ground  is  becoming  fertile 
again." 

"How  does  the  gentleman  know  this?"  asked 
one  of  the  officers. 

"Nowadays  people  know  these  things,"  re- 
plied Stasch;  "and  besides,  Professor  Sterling 
lectured  to  us  long  ago  on  Wadi  Tumilat." 

Although  Stasch  spoke  English  very  flu- 
ently, he  had  a  rather  peculiar  accent;  this 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  second  officer, 
who  asked: 

"Is  not  the  young  gentleman  an  English- 
man? 

"This  little  lady  is  Miss  Nell,  whom  her 
father  has  placed  in  my  care  during  the  jour- 
ney. I  am  not  an  Englishman,  but  a  Pole, 
and  a  son  of  one  of  the  engineers  of  the  canal." 

The  officer  smiled  at  this  answer,  which  the 
boy  gave  disjointedly,  and  said: 

"I  esteem  the  Poles  very  highly.  I  belong  to 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  that  in  Napoleon's  day 
fought  side  by  side  with  the  Polish  Uhlans  in 
several  battles,  the  memory  of  which,  even  to 
the  present  day,  is  enshrined  in  honor  and 
glory."^ 

*The  English  mounted  troops  which  fought  with  the  PoUsh 
cavalry  against  Napoleon  boast  of  it  even  to  this  day,  and  the 
officers,  when  speaking  of  their  regiment,  never  fail  to  say,  "We 
fought  with  the  Poles." — S.  Chevrillon,  "Aux  Indes." 


36        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I  am  pleased  to  meet  you,"  answered 
Stasch. 

The  conversation  ran  along  pleasantly,  for 
the  officers  seemed  to  be  entertained.  It 
happened  that  these  officers  were  traveling 
from  Port  Said  to  Cairo,  to  see  the  English 
ambassador  and  to  receive  from  him  final  in- 
structions in  regard  to  the  long  journey  which 
lay  before  them.  The  younger  of  the  two  was 
a  doctor  in  the  army,  and  the  one  who  talked 
to  Stasch,  Captain  Glen,  was  traveling  from 
Cairo  by  way  of  Suez  to  Mombasa,  where  he 
was  to  rule  over  the  entire  district  surrounding 
this  harbor,  which  stretched  out  as  far  as  the 
Samburuland  and  Rudolf  Lake.  Stasch,  who 
enjoyed  reading  stories  of  African  travels, 
knew  that  Mombasa  lay  several  degrees  bej^ond 
the  equator.  He  knew,  too,  that  the  bordering 
countries,  although  the  English  now  find  them 
interesting,  are  really  but  little  known,  being 
quite  wild,  full  of  elephants,  giraffes,  rhinoce- 
roses, buffaloes,  and  all  kinds  of  antelopes, 
which  are  constantly  seen  by  army  merchants 
and  missionary  expeditions.  So  the  boy  envied 
Captain  Glen  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart  and 
promised  to  visit  him  in  Mombasa,  so  that  he 
might  hunt  lions  and  buffaloes  with  him. 

"All  right,  but  I  beg  for  a  visit  from  this 
little  lady,"  answered  Captain  Glen,  laughing 
and  pointing  to  Nell,  who  had  just  left  the 
window  to  sit  down  beside  him. 

"Miss  Rawlison  has  her  father,"  answered 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       37 

Stasch,  "and  I  am  only  taking  care  of  her  dur- 
ing the  journey." 

Thereupon  the  second  officer  turned  round 
suddenly  and  asked:  "Rawlison?  Is  he  not  the 
canal  director  who  has  a  brother  in  Bombay?" 

"My  uncle  lives  in  Bombay,"  answered  Nell, 
raising  a  finger. 

"In  that  case,  my  dear,  your  uncle  is  mar- 
ried to  my  sister.  My  name  is  Clary.  We  are 
related,  and  I  am  heartily  glad  that  I  have  met 
you  and  made  your  acquaintance,  little  one." 

The  doctor  was  very  much  pleased.  He  said 
that  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Port  Said  he  had 
inquired  for  Mr.  Rawlison  at  the  director's 
office,  but  was  told  that  he  had  gone  away  for 
the  holidays.  He  also  expressed  his  regret  that 
the  ship  in  which  he  and  Glen  were  going  to 
Mombasa  was  to  sail  from  Suez  in  a  few  days, 
and  so  he  would  be  unable  to  take  a  trip  to 
Medinet.  He  asked  Nell  to  remember  him  to 
her  father,  and  promised  to  write  to  her  from 
Mombasa. 

The  two  officers  now  directed  most  of  their 
conversation  to  Nell,  so  that  Stasch  was  some- 
what in  the  background.  At  every  station 
dozens  of  oranges,  fresh  dates,  and  even  ex- 
cellent sherbet  were  served.  Stasch  and  Nell 
did  full  justice  to  these  good  things,  as  did 
Dinah  also,  for  among  her  other  excellent 
qualities  was  an  unusual  fondness  for  eating. 

In  this  wa}^  the  journey  to  Cairo  passed  very 
quickly.     The  officers  on  leaving  kissed  Nell's 


<Co  i^  box 


38       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

little  hands  and  head,  and  shook  Stasch  by  the 
hand,  and  then  Captain  Glen,  who  admired  the 
resolute  boy  very  much,  said,  half  in  earnest 
and  half  in  jest: 

"Listen,  my  boy!  Who  knows  where,  when, 
and  under  what  circumstances  we  may  meet 
again?  But  remember  that  you  can  always 
count  on  my  good  will  and  my  help." 

"And  I  can  promise  the  same  to  you,  sir," 
answered  Stasch,  making  a  dignified  bow. 

CHAPTER    IV 

MR.  Tarkowski  and  Mr.  Rawlison,  who 
loved  his  little  Nell  more  than  his  life, 
were  delighted  at  the  arrival  of  the  children. 
The  two  young  people  greeted  their  fathers 
with  equal  enthusiasm,  and  at  once  began  to  in- 
spect the  tents,  the  interiors  of  which  were  all 
completely  fitted  up  and  prepared  to  welcome 
the  beloved  guests.  They  saw  that  the  tents 
were  as  spacious  as  large  rooms,  handsomely 
fitted  with  a  double  roof,  lined  with  blue  and 
red  flannel,  and  that  the  floors  were  covered  with 
rugs.  The  Cook  Company,  which  was  so  well 
thought  of  by  the  high  officials  of  the  canal,  had 
done  all  in  their  power  to  make  things  comfort- 
able and  pleasant  for  them.  At  first  Mr.  Raw- 
lison had  feared  that  a  lengthy  stay  in  the  tent 
might  injure  Nell's  health,  but  at  last  he  gave 
his  consent,  because  in  bad  weather  they  could 
always  move  to  the  hotel.     But  now,  having 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       39 

taken  a  good  look  at  everything,  including  the 
surroundings,  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  days  and  nights  spent  in  the  open  air  would 
be  a  hundred  times  better  for  his  only  daughter 
than  the  gloomy  rooms  of  a  small  town  hotel. 
They  were  also  fortunate  in  having  fine 
weather.  Medinet,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
the  sandy  hills  of  the  Libyan  desert,  has  a  far 
better  climate  than  Cairo,  and  is  not  named 
"land  of  roses"  without  good  reason.  As  a  re- 
sult of  its  protected  position,  and  because  of  the 
moisture  in  the  air,  the  nights  are  not  nearly  so 
cold  as  in  other  southernly  parts  of  Egypt,  and 
the  winter  is  really  delightful.  In  November 
the  vegetation  is  most  luxuriant.  Date-palms, 
olives  (not  many  of  which  are  found  in  Egypt) , 
figs  and  orange-trees,  enormous  nuts,  pome- 
granates, and  various  other  southern  plants 
cover  this  beautiful  oasis  like  a  forest.  The 
gardens  are  fairly  overrun  with  acacias,  lilacs, 
and  roses,  so  that  during  the  night  every  breath 
of  air  carries  their  overpowering  perfume.  One 
breathes  here  from  the  bottom  of  one's  lungs, 
and  "does  not  want  to  die,"  as  the  natives  say. 
Heluan,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Nile,  is  the 
only  other  place  with  a  similar  climate, 
although  it  is  situated  much  farther  north,  and 
therefore  the  vegetation  is  not  so  luxuriant. 

But  Heluan  had  sad  associations  for  Mr. 
Rawlison,  for  it  was  there  that  Nell's  mother 
had  died.  Therefore  he  preferred  Medinet, 
and  as  he  looked  at  the  beaming  face  of  the 


40         THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

little  girl  he  resolved  to  buy  some  land  and  a 
garden  here,  to  build  a  comfortable  English 
house,  and  to  spend  every  holiday  he  could  pro- 
cure in  this  favored  spot,  and  perhaps,  when 
his  services  were  no  longer  necessary  on  the 
canal,  to  make  this  his  permanent  residence. 
But  these  were  embryo  plans  for  the  distant 
future. 

Meanwhile,  the  children  had  been  flitting 
about  like  flies  ever  since  their  arrival,  for  they 
wanted  to  see  all  the  tents,  as  well  as  the  don- 
keys and  camels  hired  by  Cook,  before  dinner- 
time. But  it  so  happened  that  the  animals  were 
grazing  some  distance  away,  so  that  the  chil- 
dren could  not  see  them  until  the  next  day. 
On  the  other  hand,  to  compensate  them  for 
their  disappointment,  Nell  and  Stasch  were  de- 
lighted to  see  Chamis,  the  son  of  Chadigi,  their 
good  friend  from  Port  Said.  He  was  not  one 
of  Cook's  servants,  and  even  Mr.  Rawlison  was 
surprised  to  see  him  in  Medinet,  but  as  he  had 
previously  employed  Chamis  to  carry  his  in- 
struments, he  took  him  along  now  to  run 
errands  and  perform  other  services. 

The  evening  meal  proved  to  be  very  good, 
for  the  old  Copt,  who  for  several  years  filled 
the  position  as  cook  for  the  company,  took 
pride  in  showing  his  skill.  The  children  told 
how  they  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
officers  during  the  journey,  and  this  especially 
interested  Mr.  Rawlison,  whose  brother  Rich- 
ard was  married  to  one  of  Dr.  Clary's  sisters, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       41 

and  had  resided  in  India  for  several  years.  As 
they  were  without  children,  the  uncle  was  very 
fond  of  his  little  niece,  whom  he  only  knew 
from  photographs,  and  he  inquired  about  her 
in  all  his  letters.  The  two  fathers  were  also 
much  amused  at  the  invitation  which  Stasch 
had  received  from  Captain  Glen  to  go  to  Mom- 
basa. The  boy  took  this  invitation  quite  seri- 
ously, and  made  up  his  mind  some  day  to  visit 
his  new  friend  on  the  other  side  of  the  equator. 
Mr.  Tarkowski  was  obliged  to  explain  to  him 
that  the  English  officials  never  stay  long  on 
duty  in  the  same  place — owing  to  the  treacher- 
ous climate  of  Africa — and  before  he,  Stasch, 
would  be  grown  up  the  captain  would  be  at  his 
tenth  post,  or  perhaps  no  longer  in  this  world. 
After  dinner  the  whole  party  went  outside 
the  tents,  where  the  servants  put  up  canvas 
chairs,  and  prepared  siphons  of  soda-water  and 
brandy  for  the  two  gentlemen.  It  was  now 
night  and  unusually  warm,  and  the  full  moon 
made  it  as  brilliant  as  day.  The  white  walls 
of  the  ugly  buildings  looked  green  in  contrast 
to  the  tents,  the  stars  twinkled  in  the  firma- 
ment, and  the  air  was  filled  with  the  perfume 
of  roses,  acacias,  and  heliotrope.  The  town 
was  now  asleep.  In  the  silence  of  the  night  all 
that  could  be  heard  was  an  occasional  loud  cry 
from  the  cranes,  herons,  and  flamingoes,  the 
sound  of  which  came  in  with  the  breeze  from 
the  Nile  toward  Karoon  Lake.  Suddenl}^  the 
bark   of  a   dog  was   heard,   which   surprised 


42        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Stasch  and  Nell,  for  it  seemed  to  come  from 
the  tent  they  had  not  yet  visited,  in  which  were 
kept  saddles,  tools,  and  various  things  neces- 
sary in  traveling. 

"What  a  large  dog  that  must  be,"  said 
Stasch. 

Mr.  Tarkowski  began  to  laugh.  Mr.  Rawli- 
son  also  laughed;  then  knocking  the  ashes  off 
his  cigar,  he  said: 

"Well,  it  was  no  use  to  lock  him  up." 

Then  he  turned  to  the  children. 

"To-morrow,  as  you  know,  will  be  Christ- 
mas, and  this  dog  was  to  be  a  surprise  for  Nell 
from  Mr.  Tarkowski,  but  as  the  surprise  has 
begun  to  bark  I  am  obliged  to  tell  you  about  it 
to-day." 

When  Nell  heard  this  she  quickly  climbed 
on  Mr.  Tarkowski's  knee  and  put  her  arms 
around  his  neck;  then  she  jumped  on  her 
father's  knee. 

"Papa,  dear,  how  happy  I  am,  how  happy!" 

The  embraces  and  kisses  seemed  endless;  at 
last  Nell  stood  on  her  feet,  and  looking  into 
Mr.  Tarkowski's  eyes,  said: 

"Mr.  Tarkowski—" 

"Well,  Nell,  what  is  it?" 

"Now  that  I've  found  out  he  is  here,  I  ought 
to  see  him  to-day!" 

"I  knew,"  cried  Mr.  Rawlison,  pretending 
to  be  very  much  excited  over  the  matter,  "that 
this  little  fly  would  not  be  content  with  only 
hearing  about  it." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       43 

Mr.  Tarkowski  turned  to  Chadigi's  son  and 
said: 

"Chamis,  bring  the  dog  here." 

The  Sudanese  at  once  disappeared  behind 
the  kitchen-tent  and  soon  stepped  forth  leading 
an  enormous  animal  in  leash. 

Nell  drew  back. 

*'Oh,"  she  cried  out,  seizing  her  father's  hand. 

But  Stasch,  on  the  contrary,  went  into 
ecstasies. 

"That  is  a  lion,  not  a  dog." 

"His  name  is  Saba  (lion),"  answered  Mr. 
Tarkowski.  "He  belongs  to  the  breed  of  mas- 
tiffs, the  largest  dogs  in  the  world.  This  one 
is  only  two  years  old,  but  is  already  enormous. 
Don't  be  afraid,  Nell.  He  is  as  gentle  as  a 
lamb.    Chamis,  let  him  loose!" 

Chamis  let  go  the  leash  and  the  dog,  feeling 
himself  free,  began  to  wag  his  tail,  to  rub  him- 
self up  against  Mr.  Tarkowski,  with  whom  he 
had  already  made  friends,  and  to  bark  for  joy. 

By  the  light  of  the  moon  the  children  ad- 
mired his  large  round  head  with  its  hanging 
hps,  his  strong  paws,  his  great  size,  which  with 
the  golden  yellow  of  his  whole  body  gave  him 
the  appearance  of  a  lion.  In  all  their  lives  they 
had  never  seen  anything  like  him. 

"With  such  a  dog  one  could  safely  wander 
through  Africa,"  cried  Stasch. 

"Ask  him  if  he  can  catch  a  rhinoceros  for 
us,"  said  Mr.  Tarkowski. 

It  is  true  Saba  could  not  answer  this  ques- 


44        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

tion,  but  he  wagged  his  tail  still  harder  and 
rubbed  himself  up  against  them  so  confidingly 
that  Nell  suddenly  lost  all  fear  and  began  to 
stroke  his  head. 

"Saba,  dear,  good  Saba!" 

Mr.  Rawlison  bent  down  over  him,  raised 
his  head  toward  the  little  girl's  face,  and  said: 

"Saba,  look  at  this  little  lady.  She  is  your 
mistress.  You  must  obey  and  protect  her — 
do  you  understand?" 

"Wurgh!"  Saba  was  heard  to  say  in  a  deep 
bass,  as  if  he  really  understood  what  was 
wanted  of  him. 

And  he  did  understand  even  better  than  one 
would  imagine,  for  he  took  advantage  of  his 
head  being  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  girl's  face 
to  lick  her  little  nose  and  cheeks  with  his  broad 
tongue  as  a  sign  of  allegiance. 

That  made  every  one  laugh.  Nell  had  to  go 
into  the  tent  to  wash  her  face.  When  she  re- 
turned after  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she  saw  that 
Saba  had  laid  his  paws  on  Stasch's  shoulders, 
and  that  Stasch  bent  under  the  weight.  The 
dog  was  a  head  taller  than  he. 

Meanwhile  bedtime  had  arrived,  but  the  little 
girl  begged  to  be  allowed  to  talk  for  another 
half-hour  to  get  better  acquainted  with  her  new 
friend.  And  they  became  friends  so  soon  that 
it  was  not  long  before  Mr.  Tarkowski  placed 
her  on  his  back,  as  ladies  ride.  She  was  afraid 
of  falling  off,  so  he  held  her,  and  told  Stasch 
to  lead  the  dog  by  the  collar.    After  she  had 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       45 

ridden  a  short  distance  Stasch  tried  to  mount 
this  pecuHar  saddle-horse,  but  the  latter  quickly- 
sat  on  his  hind  legs  and  Stasch  unexpectedly 
found  himself  on  the  sand. 

The  children  were  just  about  going  to  bed 
when  from  afar  off,  on  the  moon-lit  public 
square,  two  white  figures  appeared,  running 
toward  the  tent. 

Saba,  who  until  now  had  been  so  gentle, 
began  to  bark  in  a  deep  and  menacing  manner, 
so  that  Mr.  Rawlison  ordered  Chamis  to  hold 
him  by  the  collar  again.  Meanwhile  the  two 
men,  dressed  in  white  burnooses,  stopped  be- 
fore the  tent. 

"Who  is  there?"  asked  Mr.  Tarkowski. 

"Camel-drivers,"  said  one  of  the  newcomers. 

"Ah,  you  are  Idris  and  Gebhr?  What  do 
you  wish?" 

"We  have  come  to  ask  whether  you  will  need 
us  to-morrow?" 

"No.  To-morrow  and  the  day  after  are  great 
holidays,  during  which  it  is  not  customary  for 
us  to  make  excursions.  Come  three  days  from 
now,  early  in  the  morning." 

"We  thank  you,  effendi." 

"And  have  you  good  camels?"  asked  Mr. 
Rawlison. 

"Bismillah!"  answered  Idris.  "Real  saddle- 
horses  with  fat  humps  and  gentle  as  lambs. 
Otherwise  Cook  would  not  have  engaged  us." 

"Do  they  not  jolt  considerably?" 

"Sir,  you  can  lay  a  handful  of  beans  on  the 


46       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

backs  of  any  of  them,  and  not  one  will  fall  off, 
no  matter  how  fast  they  gallop." 

"If  he's  exaggerating  he  at  least  does  it  in 
true  Arab  style,"  said  Mr.  Tarkowski,  laugh- 
ing. 

"Or  in  Sudanese  style,"  added  Mr.  Rawli- 
son." 

Meanwhile  Idris  and  Gebhr  still  stood  there 
hke  two  white  posts  and  carefully  surveyed 
Stasch  and  Nell.  The  moonlight  illuminated 
the  faces  of  the  two  sand-drivers  and  made 
them  look  as  if  carved  out  of  bronze.  The 
whites  of  their  eyes  looked  greenish  from  be- 
neath their  turbans. 

"Good-night,"  said  Mr.  Rawlison. 

"May  Allah  protect  you  by  day  and  by 
night,  effendi!" 

At  these  words  they  bowed  and  departed. 
Saba  was  evidently  not  pleased  with  the  two 
Sudanese,  and  as  they  left  he  sent  a  deep, 
thunderous  growl  after  them. 

CHAPTER   V 

FOR  some  days  following  they  made  no  ex- 
cursions. But  to  compensate  for  this, 
when  the  first  star  appeared  on  Christmas  night 
Mr.  Rawlison's  tent  was  illuminated  with  hun- 
dreds of  lights  burning  on  the  little  Christmas- 
tree  for  Nell.  The  customary  fir-tree  had  been 
replaced  by  a  salpiglossis  plant  cut  out  of  a 
garden  in  Medinet,  but  nevertheless  Nell  found 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       47 

among  its  branches  a  quantity  of  dainties  to 
eat,  and  a  beautiful  doll,  which  her  father  had 
bought  for  her  in  Cairo.  Stasch  received  from 
his  father  the  much-longed-for  English  gun, 
besides  cartridges,  hunting  paraphernalia,  and 
a  riding-saddle. 

Nell  was  beside  herself  with  joy,  and  Stasch, 
although  imagining  that  any  one  owning  a  real 
gun  should  be  correspondingly  sedate,  could 
not  keep  away  from  it,  and  choosing  a  moment 
when  everything  was  quiet  around  the  tent,  he 
walked  about  on  his  hands.  He  was  especially 
clever  in  performing  this  feat,  which  he  had 
often  practised  at  school  in  Port  Said,  and  he 
sometimes  did  it  to  entertain  Nell,  who  envied 
him  his  skill. 

Christmas  day  and  the  first  part  of  the 
vacation  the  children  spent  inspecting  their 
presents  and  training  Saba.  Their  new 
friend  proved  to  be  exceedingly  intelli- 
gent. On  the  very  first  day  he  learned  to  give 
his  paw,  bring  handkerchiefs — which,  however, 
he  did  not  return  willingly — and  he  was  made 
to  comprehend  that  it  was  not  the  thing  for  a 
gentleman's  dog  to  lick  Nell's  face.  Nell  held 
her  finger  up  and  taught  him  various  things, 
and  by  the  affirmative  wagging  of  his  tail  he 
gave  her  to  understand  that  he  was  listening 
with  due  attention  and  was  profiting  by  these 
good  lessons.  During  the  walks  in  the  sandy 
town  square  in  Medinet,  Saba  became  more 
famous  every  hour,  but  this,  like  all  fame,  had 


48        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

a  reverse  side,  for  he  drew  a  great  crowd  of 
Arab  children  after  him.  At  first  they  re- 
mained at  a  distance,  but  becoming  bolder  on 
account  of  the  gentleness  of  the  "monster," 
they  approached,  and  at  last  swarmed  around 
the  tent,  so  that  no  one  could  move  freely.  And 
as  every  Arab  child  sucks  a  piece  of  sugar-cane 
from  morning  till  night,  the  children  are 
always  followed  by  swarms  of  flies,  which  are 
not  only  annoying,  but  dangerous,  for  they 
spread  the  germs  of  the  Egyptian  eye-disease. 
Therefore  the  servants  tried  to  drive  away  the 
children.  But  Nell  not  only  interfered  to  pro- 
tect them,  but  divided  amongst  the  younger 
ones  sweetmeats,  which  caused  them  to  adore 
her  and  at  the  same  time  naturally  increased 
their  numbers. 

Three  days  later  the  general  excursions  be- 
gan. Sometimes  they  traveled  on  the  narrow- 
gage  railroads,  of  which  the  English  had  built 
many  in  Medinet-el-Fayoum,  sometimes  partly 
on  donkeys,  and  again  on  camels.  It  is  true 
they  found  that  the  praise  bestowed  on  these 
animals  by  Idris  was  much  exaggerated,  for 
not  only  beans,  but  people,  found  it  difficult 
to  stay  on  their  backs.  Yet  after  all  there  was 
a  tiny  grain  of  truth  in  what  he  said.  The 
camels  really  did  belong  to  the  riding  species, 
and  as  they  were  well  fed  with  maize,  they  had 
fat  humps,  and  showed  such  an  inclination  to 
gallop  that  they  had  to  be  held  back. 

The  Sudanese,  Idris  and  Gebhr,  notwith- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       49 

standing  the  savage  glare  in  their  eyes,  gained 
the  confidence  and  approval  of  the  party,  espe- 
cially on  account  of  the  zest  with  which  they 
worked  and  the  great  attention  they  paid  to 
Nell.  Gebhr  had  always  a  cruel,  brutal  ex- 
pression on  his  face,  but  Idris,  who  was  not 
slow  to  notice  every  one  of  the  party  adored 
this  little  person  as  the  apple  of  his  eye,  de- 
clared over  and  over  again  that  he  would  be 
more  careful  of  her  than  of  himself.  Never- 
theless, Mr.  Rawlison  imagined  that  Idris 
wanted  to  get  at  his  pocket  by  means  of  Nell, 
but  as  he  thought  that  nobody  could  help  lov- 
ing his  dear  little  only  daughter,  he  was  grate- 
ful to  him  and  did  not  spare  the  bakshish. 

In  the  course  of  five  days  the  party  visited 
the  ruins  of  Crocodilopolis,  which  lie  near  the 
town.  It  is  there  the  Egyptians  used  to  pray 
to  their  god,  Sobek,  who  had  a  human  body 
with  a  crocodile's  head.  The  next  excursion 
was  made  to  the  Hawara  pyramid  and  the 
ruins  of  the  Labyrinth,  and  the  longest  ex- 
cursion, made  on  camel-back,  was  to  Karoon 
Lake.  The  northern  bank  of  this  lake,  save 
for  the  ruins  of  some  old  Egyptian  towns,  is 
a  wilderness  in  which  not  a  vestige  of  life  re- 
mains ;  but  south  of  the  lake  stretches  a  beauti- 
ful, fertile  region,  the  banks  being  overgrown 
with  heather  and  canebrake,  in  which  innu- 
merable flocks  of  pelicans,  flamingoes,  herons, 
wild  geese,  and  ducks  make  their  homes.  There 
Stasch  found  his  first  opportunity  to  show  what 


*;0       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

a  good  aim  he  could  take  and  what  a  good  shot 
he  was.  Whether  he  used  an  ordinary  gun  or  his 
Renommier  rifle,  his  shots  were  so  true  that 
after  each  one  the  astonished  Idris  and  the 
Arab  rowers  smacked  their  hps,  and  each  time 
a  bird  fell  into  the  water  they  cried  out,  "Bis- 
millah  and  Manalieh!" 

The  Arabs  declared  that  there  were  a  great 
many  wolves  and  hyenas  on  the  bank  opposite 
the  wilderness,  and  that  if  the  carcass  of  a 
sheep  were  to  be  hidden  there  they  would  be 
almost  certain  of  getting  a  shot.  In  conse- 
quence of  what  they  heard  Mr.  Tarkowski  and 
Stasch  spent  two  nights  in  the  wilderness  near 
the  ruins  of  Dimeh.  But  the  Bedouins  stole 
the  first  sheep  as  soon  as  the  huntsmen  had  left, 
and  the  second  only  attracted  a  lame  jackal, 
which  Stasch  brought  down.  All  further  hunt- 
ing had  to  be  postponed,  for. it  was  now  time 
for  the  two  engineers  to  begin  their  journey 
to  inspect  the  water-works  being  erected  at 
Bahr-Yoosuf,  in  the  vicinity  of  El-Lahun,  to 
the  southeast  of  Medinet.  Mr.  Rawlison  was 
only  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  Mrs.  Olivier. 
But,  unfortunately,  instead  of  her  arrival,  they 
received  a  letter  from  the  doctor  telling  them 
that  she  was  again  a  victim  of  erysipelas,  due 
to  the  bite,  and  would  be  unable  to  leave  Port 
Said  for  some  time.  They  were  in  a  predica- 
ment. It  was  impossible  for  them  to  take  the 
children,  old  Dinah,  the  tents,  and  all  the  ser- 
vants with  them,  because  the  engineers  would 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       51 

be  here  to-day  and  there  to-morrow,  and  they 
might  receive  an  order  to  go  as  far  as  the  great 
Ibrahim  Canal.  Therefore,  after  some  con- 
sideration Mr.  Rawhson  decided  to  leave  Nell 
behind  in  care  of  Dinah  and  Stasch,  and  also 
of  the  agent  of  the  Italian  Consul  and  the 
native  "Moodir"  or  governor.  Mr.  Rawlison 
promised  Nell,  who  was  very  unwilling  to  part 
with  her  father,  that  whenever  feasible  he  and 
Mr.  Tarkowski  would  make  trips  to  Medinet 
when  in  the  vicinity,  and  that  they  would  invite 
the  children  to  come  to  them  if  there  should  be 
anything  especially  worth  seeing. 

"We  are  taking  Chamis  along  with  us,"  he 
said,  "and  we  will  send  him  to  you  if  necessary. 
Dinah  must  always  accompany  Nell;  but  as 
Nell  does  what  she  likes  with  her,  you,  Stasch, 
must  look  after  both  of  them." 

"You  can  rest  assured,"  answered  Stasch, 
"that  I  shall  protect  Nell  as  if  she  were  my 
own  sister.  She  has  Saba,  I  have  the  rifle,  and 
now  let  any  one  dare  harm  her." 

"That  is  not  the  point!"  said  Mr.  Rawlison. 
"You  can  not  possibly  need  Saba  and  the  rifle. 
Only  please  see  that  she  does  not  get  too  tired, 
and  also  that  she  does  not  take  cold.  I  have 
asked  the  Consul  to  send  for  a  doctor  from 
Cairo  at  once  should  she  become  ill.  We  will 
send  Chamis  as  often  as  possible  to  bring  us 
news  from  you.  The  Moodir  will  also  visit 
you.  Besides,  I  hope  we  shall  not  be  away 
very  long." 


52        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Mr.  Tarkowski  also  cautioned  Stasch  well. 
He  told  him  that  Nell  did  not  need  his  pro- 
tection, for  in  Medinet,  as  also  in  the  whole 
province  of  El-Fayoum,  there  were  no  wild 
people  nor  wild  animals,  and  that  it  would  be 
ridiculous,  and  unworthy  of  a  boy  in  his  four- 
teenth year,  to  imagine  such  a  thing.  And  so 
he  had  only  to  be  careful  and  attentive,  and  not 
to  undertake  any  kind  of  an  expedition  on  his 
own  account,  especially  on  camels  with  Nell, 
for  one  ride  on  them  tires  any  one  out.  But 
when  Nell  heard  this  she  looked  so  sad  that 
Mr.  Tarkowski  had  to  calm  her. 

"Of  course,"  he  said,  stroking  her  hair,  "you 
shall  ride  on  camels,  but  with  us,  or  on  the 
way  to  us,  when  we  send  Chamis  to  fetch  you." 

"And  can  we  not  make  any  excursions  by 
ourselves,  not  even  tiny  little  ones?"  asked  the 
girl. 

And  with  her  forefinger  she  demonstrated 
exactly  the  size  of  the  little  excursions.  The 
fathers  at  last  gave  in,  on  condition  that  they 
would  be  led  on  donkeys  and  not  on  camels, 
and  that  they  were  not  to  go  out  to  the  ruins, 
where  they  might  easily  fall  into  a  hole,  but  on 
the  roads  to  the  neighboring  fields  and  the  gar- 
dens on  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  Drago- 
mans and  Cooks  servants  were  always  to  ac- 
company the  children. 

Then  the  two  gentlemen  left,  but  they  did 
not  go  far  away — only  to  Hawaret-el-Makta — 
so  that  ten  hours  later  they  were  able  to  return 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       53 

to  Medinet  for  the  night.  This  they  did  for 
several  successive  days,  until  they  had  in- 
spected the  work  in  the  vicinitj^  Then,  as  they 
were  obliged  to  inspect  work  in  places  some- 
what farther  away,  Chamis  came  riding  up  at 
night,  and  early  in  the  morning  took  Stasch 
and  Nell  along  with  him  to  the  little  town 
where  their  fathers  wanted  to  show  them  some- 
thing of  interest.  The  children  spent  most  of 
the  day  with  their  fathers,  and  toward  sunset 
returned  to  their  tents  in  Medinet.  But  some 
days  Chamis  did  not  come,  and  then  Nell,  not- 
withstanding she  had  the  company  of  Stasch 
and  Saba,  in  whom  she  always  discovered  new 
talents,  woul'd  watch  lovingly  for  the  messen- 
ger. In  this  manner  the  time  passed  until  the 
feast  of  the  Three  Holy  Kings,  on  which  day 
the  two  engineers  returned  to  Medinet. 

Two  daj^s  later  they  went  away  again,  after 
having  announced  that  they  would  now  be  gone 
a  longer  time,  and  would  probably  travel  as 
far  as  Beni  Suef,  and  from  there  to  El-Fasher, 
to  the  canal  which  stretches  along  the  Nile  far 
southward.  Therefore  the  children  were 
greatly  surprised  when  Chamis  appeared  at 
Medinet  on  the  third  day  about  eleven  o'clock. 
Stasch,  who  had  gone  to  the  pasture  to  watch 
the  camels,  saw  him  first.  Chamis  talked  with 
Idris  and  told  Stasch  that  he  was  there  only  on 
his  and  Nell's  account,  and  that  he  was  com- 
ing to  the  tents  to  tell  them  where  their  two 
fathers  had  ordered  them  to  go.     The  boy  im- 


54       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

mediately  ran  with  this  great  piece  of  news  to 
Nell,  whom  he  found  playing  with  Saba  before 
the  tent. 

"Have  you  heard  the  news  yet?  Chamis  is 
here!"  he  cried  out  from  afar. 

Nell  immediately  began  to  hop,  holding 
both  feet  together,  as  little  girls  do  when 
skipping. 

"We  are  going  away !    We  are  going  away !" 

"Yes,  we  are  going  away,  and  quite  far 
away." 

"And  where  to?"  asked  she,  brushing  aside 
the  hair  from  her  forehead. 

"I  don't  know.  Chamis  said  he  would  come 
here  directly  and  tell  us." 

"Then  how  do  you  know  that  we  are  going 
far  away?" 

"Because  I  heard  Idris  say  that  he  and 
Gebhr  would  depart  at  once  with  the  camels. 
That  means  that  we  are  going  by  train  and  that 
the  camels  will  be  sent  there  in  advance  to 
where  our  fathers  are,  and  from  there  we  shall 
make  various  excursions." 

Nell  had  hopped  about  so  long  that  her  loose 
front  hair  covered  not  only  her  eyes,  but  her 
whole  face,  and  her  feet  rebounded  as  quickly 
as  though  made  of  rubber. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Chamis  came  and 
bowed  before  them: 

"Khauage  (young  man),"  said  he  to  Stasch, 
"we  leave  in  three  hours  by  the  next  train." 

"For  what  place?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       55 

"To  El-Gharak  el-Sultani,  and  from  there, 
together  with  the  two  gentlemen,  on  camels  to 
Wadi  Rayan." 

Stasch's  heart  beat  with  joy,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  was  surprised  at  Chamis'  words.  He 
knew  that  Wadi  Rayan  was  a  large,  round, 
sandy  ledge  of  rocks  which  rises  in  the  Libyan 
Desert  to  the  south  and  southwest  of  Medinet, 
and  that  Mr.  Tarkowski  and  Mr.  Rawlison  had 
said  when  they  left  that  they  were  going  in  a 
diametrically  opposite  direction — toward  the 
Nile. 

"What  has  happened?"  asked  Stasch.  "So 
my  father  and  Mr.  Rawlison  are  not  in  Beni 
Suef,  but  in  El-Gharak?" 

"That  is  so,"  answered  Chamis. 

"But  they  have  given  orders  to  have  their 
letters  sent  to  El-Fasher." 

"In  this  letter  the  elder  effendi  tells  why 
they  are  in  El-Gharak."  And  he  searched  his 
clothes  a  while  for  the  letter,  and  then  called 
out: 

"Oh,  Nabi!  (prophet)  I  have  left  the  letter 
in  the  packet  with  the  camel-drivers.  I  will 
run  and  get  it  before  Idris  and  Gebhr  depart." 

He  ran  to  the  camel-drivers,  and  meanwhile 
the  children  and  Dinah  began  to  prepare  for 
the  journey.  As  a  longer  excursion  lay  before 
them,  Dinah  packed  up  some  underlinen  and 
warmer  clothes  for  Nell.  Stasch  also  thought 
of  his  things,  and  took  special  pains  not  to  for- 
get the  rifle  and  the  cartridges,  as  he  hoped  to 


56        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

come  across  wolves  and  hyenas  on  the  sand- 
dunes  of  Wadi  Rayan. 

Chamis  did  not  return  until  an  hour  later, 
so  bathed  in  perspiration  and  so  out  of  breath 
that  he  could  hardly  speak  a  word. 

"I  did  not  reach  the  camel-drivers  in  time," 
he  finally  said.  "I  tried  to  overtake  them,  but 
without  success.  But  that  is  of  no  consequence, 
for  we  shall  find  the  letter  and  also  the  two 
effendis  in  El-Gharak.  Is  Dinah  going  with 
us?" 

"What?" 

"Perhaps  it  would  be  better  for  her  to  stay 
behind.  Neither  of  the  effendis  has  said  any- 
thing about  her." 

"Still  they  planned  the  journey,  arranging 
for  Dinah  always  to  accompany  the  little  girl, 
and  therefore  she  will  go  with  us  on  this  trip." 

Chamis  bowed,  placed  his  hand  on  his  heart, 
and  said: 

"Sir,  let  us  hurry  or  else  we  shall  miss  the 
katr   (train)." 

The  baggage  was  ready,  and  they  arrived  at 
the  station  in  time.  It  was  not  over  thirty  kilo- 
meters from  Medinet  to  Gharak,  but  the  train 
on  the  little  branch  line  which  connects  these 
towns  goes  so  slowly  and  stops  so  often  that 
if  Stasch  had  been  alone  he  doubtless  would 
have  preferred  traveling  by  camel  to  going  by 
train,  for  he  calculated  that  Idris  and  Gebhr, 
who  had  departed  two  hours  earlier,  would 
reach  Gharak  before  him.     But  this  would 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       57 

have  been  too  long  a  journey  for  Nell;  so  her 
young  protector,  having  been  cautioned  by  both 
fathers,  was  very  careful  not  to  fatigue  the 
girl.  Besides,  time  passed  so  rapidly  that  they 
hardly  knew  that  they  had  arrived  at  Gharak. 

The  little  station,  from  which  Englishmen 
usually  made  excursions  to  Wadi  Rayan,  was 
quite  deserted.  They  saw  only  several  veiled 
women  with  baskets  of  oranges,  two  strange 
Bedouins,  camel-drivers,  and  Idris  and  Gebhr 
with  seven  camels,  one  of  which  was  laden  with 
luggage.  On  the  other  hand,  there  was  not  a 
trace  of  Mr.  Tarkowski  or  Mr.  Rawlison;  but 
Idris  explained  their  absence  as  follows: 

"Both  gentlemen  have  ridden  toward  the 
desert  to  set  up  the  tent  they  brought  from 
Estah,  and  have  instructed  us  to  follow  them." 

"And  how  can  we  find  them  among  the 
mountains?"  said  Stasch. 

"They  have  sent  guides  to  meet  us." 

At  these  words  he  pointed  to  the  Bedouins, 
the  elder  of  whom  bowed  down  before  them, 
rubbed  his  finger  in  his  one  remaining  eye,  and 
said: 

"Our  camels  are  not  so  fat  as  yours,  but 
they  are  just  as  agile.  We  shall  be  there  in  an 
hour." 

Stasch  felt  glad  that  they  could  spend  the 
night  in  the  desert,  but  Nell  was  somewhat  dis- 
appointed; until  now  she  had  certainly  ex- 
pected to  meet  her  papa  in  Gharak. 

In    the    meanwhile    the    station-master,    a 


58        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

drowsy  Egyptian  wearing  a  red  fez,  ap- 
proached, and  as  he  had  nothing  else  to  do  he 
began  to  gaze  at  the  European  children. 

"These  are  the  children  of  the  Inglesi  who 
rode  toward  the  desert  early  this  morning 
armed  with  guns,"  said  Idris,  as  he  lifted  Nell 
into  the  saddle. 

Stasch  gave  his  gun  to  Chamis  and  seated 
himself  beside  Nell,  for  the  saddle  was  large 
and  fashioned  like  a  palanquin,  except  that  it 
had  no  roof.  Dinah  sat  down  behind  Chamis, 
the  others  also  mounted  camels  and  followed 
them,  and  so  they  all  departed. 

Had  the  station-master  looked  after  them 
he  might  have  been  surprised,  for  the  English- 
men of  whom  Idris  had  spoken  were  traveling 
directly  toward  the  ruins  in  Sudan,  whereas 
the  children  were  going  straight  toward  Talei, 
in  an  opposite  direction.  But  he  had  gone  into 
his  house,  for  there  were  no  more  trains  to  stop 
at  Gharak  that  day. 

It  was  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  the 
weather  was  remarkably  fine.  The  sun  had 
passed  to  the  western  side  of  the  Nile  and  was 
sinking  below  the  desert.  The  golden  and 
purple  hues  of  the  sunset  illuminated  that  side 
of  the  heavens.  The  atmosphere  was  so  per- 
meated with  the  glow  as  to  be  nearly  blinding 
in  its  brilliancj^  The  fields  assumed  a  lilac  hue, 
but  the  heights,  taking  on  a  pure  amethyst 
color,  were  sharply  outlined  against  the  twilight 
background.    The  world  lost  all  semblance  to 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       59 

reality,  and  the  light  effects  were  as  weird  as 
those  seen  in  some  plays. 

As  long  as  they  rode  over  green  and  plowed 
land  the  Bedouin  leader  led  the  march  at  a 
moderate  pace,  but  the  moment  the  camels  felt 
the  desert  sand  crunch  under  their  feet  the 
whole  scene  suddenly  changed. 

"Allah!  Allah!"  screamed  the  savage  voices 
of  the  Bedouins. 

At  the  same  time  the  cracking  of  whips  was 
heard,  and  the  camels,  changing  from  a  trot  to 
a  gallop,  began  to  race  like  a  whirlwind,  throw- 
ing clouds  of  the  sand  and  loose  gravel  into  the 
air  with  their  feet. 

"Allah!   Allah!" 

When  a  camel  trots  he  shakes  his  rider  up 
more  than  when  he  gallops — a  gait  these 
animals  seldom  use — for  then  he  sways  more. 
And  so  this  wild  ride  amused  the  children  at 
first.  But  it  is  well  known  that  too  rapid 
swinging  causes  dizziness,  and  after  a  long 
time,  as  their  pace  did  not  slacken,  little  Nell's 
head  began  to  swim  and  everything  became  in- 
distinct before  her  eyes. 

"Stasch,  why  are  we  racing  so?"  she  cried, 
as  she  turned  toward  her  companion. 

"I  think  they  have  given  the  camels  a  loose 
rein  and  now  they  can  not  hold  them  back," 
Stasch  replied. 

But  when  he  saw  that  the  girl's  face  was 
somewhat  pale,  he  called  to  the  Bedouins,  who 
were  racing  along  ahead  of  them,  to  go  more 


60        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

slowly.  But  his  cries  only  resulted  in  their 
screaming  "Allah!"  again  and  the  animals  in- 
creasing their  speed. 

At  first  the  boy  thought  that  the  Bedouins 
had  not  heard  him,  but  when  there  was  no 
answer  to  his  repeated  demands,  and  when 
Gebhr,  who  was  riding  behind  them,  continued 
to  whip  up  the  camel  on  which  he  and  Nell  sat, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  instead  of  the 
camels  having  broken  loose,  it  was  the  men 
who  were  hurrying  them  along  for  some  reason 
of  their  own. 

It  occurred  to  him  that  perhaps  they  had 
gotten  on  the  wrong  road,  and  were  obliged  to 
run  like  this  to  make  up  for  lost  time,  fearing 
that  the  two  gentlemen  might  scold  them  if 
they  arrived  late.  But  he  soon  saw  that  this 
could  not  be  the  reason,  for  Mr.  Rawlison  was 
more  likely  to  be  angry  with  him  for  tiring  out 
Nell.  So  what  could  this  mean?  And  why  did 
they  not  obey  his  orders  ?  In  his  heart  the  boy 
began  to  be  very  angry  and  also  very  much 
worried  over  Nell. 

"Stop!"  he  cried  with  all  his  might,  turn- 
ing to  Gebhr. 

"OnskoutI  (be  quiet),"  roared  the  Sudanese 
in  answer.     And  they  raced  on. 

In  Egypt  night  comes  on  toward  six  o'clock. 
The  sunset  soon  died  away  and  a  full,  round 
moon,  colored  red  from  the  reflection  of  the  sun- 
set, arose  and  flooded  the  desert  with  its  mild 
light.  In  the  silence  nothing  was  to  be  heard  save 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       61 

the  camels  gasping  for  breath,  the  quick,  hollow 
clatter  of  their  hoofs  on  the  sand,  and  now  and 
then  the  cracking  of  the  Bedouins'  whips.  Nell 
was  so  tired  that  Stasch  was  obliged  to  hold  her 
in  the  saddle.  Every  minute  she  asked  if  they 
would  not  soon  arrive  at  their  destination,  and 
only  the  hope  of  seeing  her  father  soon  again 
buoyed  her  up.  But  they  both  looked  around 
in  vain.  An  hour  passed — then  another.  There 
was  neither  tent  nor  campfire  to  be  seen. 

Then  Stasch's  hair  stood  on  end  with  terror 
— he  realized  that  they  had  been  kidnapped. 


CHAPTER   VI 

■|\Tr.  Rawlison  and  Mr.  Tarkowski  were 
^^^  really  waiting  for  the  children,  but  not 
in  the  midst  of  the  sandy  heights  of  Wadi 
Rayan,  for  they  had  no  reason  or  wish  to  go 
there,  but  in  a  quite  different  place,  in  El- 
Fasher,  a  town  on  the  canal  of  that  name, 
where  they  were  inspecting  work  done  during 
the  preceding  year.  The  distance  between 
El-Fasher  and  Medinet  is  about  forty -five  kilo- 
meters in  a  straight  line,  but  as  there  is  no 
direct  communication,  one  is  obliged  to  travel 
by  El-Wasta,  which  almost  doubles  the  dis- 
tance. Mr.  Rawlison  consulted  the  time-table 
and  calculated  as  follows : 

"Chamis  went  away  the  day  before  yester- 
day," he  said  to  Mr.  Tarkowski,  "and  in  El- 
Wasta  he  took  the  train  coming  from  Cairo,  so 


62        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

he  must  have  been  in  Medinet  this  morning. 
The  children  only  need  an  hour  to  pack  their 
things.  But  supposing  they  left  at  noon,  they 
would  have  had  to  wait  for  the  night  train, 
which  runs  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and,  as 
I  have  forbidden  Nell  to  travel  by  night,  they 
probably  started  early  this  morning,  and  they 
will  reach  here  a  little  after  sunset." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Tarkowski.  "Chamis  must 
rest  a  little ;  it  is  true,  Stasch  is  hot  headed,  but 
in  anything  that  concerns  Nell  he  can  be  re- 
lied on.  Besides,  I  sent  him  a  card  telling  him 
that  they  were  not  to  leave  at  night." 

"He  is  a  capable  boy  and  I  have  full  confi- 
dence in  him,"  replied  Mr.  Rawlison. 

"Yes,  indeed,  so  have  I.  In  spite  of  his 
many  faults,  Stasch  is  a  boy  of  good  character 
and  never  lies,  for  he  is  brave,  and  only  a 
coward  lies.  He  does  not  lack  energy,  and 
later,  when  his  judgment  develops,  I  think  he 
will  be  able  to  fight  his  way  through  the  world." 

"Certainly;  but  just  think  if  you  ever  acted 
with  deliberation  at  his  age?" 

"I  must  confess  that  I  did  not!"  replied  Mr. 
Tarkowski,  laughing;  "but  perhaps  I  was  not 
so  self-conscious  as  he  is." 

"He  will  get  over  that.  Meanwhile,  be  glad 
that  you  have  such  a  boy." 

"And  you  that  you  have  such  a  sweet,  dear 
little  soul  as  Nell." 

"God  bless  her,"  answered  Mr.  Rawlison, 
much  affected. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       63 

The  two  friends  clasped  hands,  and  then  be- 
gan to  examine  the  plans  and  cost  of  the  water- 
works, and  so  the  time  passed  quickly  until 
evening. 

At  six  o'clock,  at  night-fall,  they  went  to  the 
station,  walked  up  and  down  the  platform,  and 
continued  talking  about  the  children. 

"Lovely  weather,  but  cool,"  Mr.  Rawhson 
said.  "I  wonder  if  Nell  has  taken  warm 
enough  clothing  with  her?" 

"Stasch  doubtless  thought  of  it,  and  Dinah, 
too." 

"I  am  sorry  we  did  not  go  to  Medinet  our- 
selves, instead  of  having  them  brought  to  us." 

"Remember  that  I  suggested  this." 

"I  know,  and  if  it  were  not  that  we  have 
to  continue  farther  south  I  would  have  agreed 
to  it,  but  I  calculated  that  the  journey  would 
take  a  considerable  time,  and  so  we  should  not 
have  had  as  long  a  time  with  the  children.  Be- 
sides, I  will  confess  that  it  was  Chamis  who 
gave  me  the  idea  of  having  them  brought  here. 
He  told  me  that  he  wanted  to  see  them  so  much, 
and  that  he  would  be  greatly  pleased  if  he  were 
sent  after  them.  I  am  not  surprised  that  he 
has  taken  a  fancy  to  them." 

Further  conversation  was  cut  short  by  the  sig- 
nals announcing  the  approaching  train.  Soon 
afterward  the  fiery  eye  of  the  locomotive  ap- 
peared in  the  darkness,  and  at  the  same  time 
its  panting  breath  and  whistling  could  be 
heard. 


64       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

A  string  of  lighted  cars  passed  along  the 
platform,  then  the  train  shook  and  stopped. 

"I  did  not  see  them  at  any  of  the  windows," 
said  Mr.  Rawlison. 

"Perhaps  they  are  sitting  farther  back  in  the 
car  and  will  soon  get  out." 

The  travelers  began  to  leave  the  train,  but 
they  were  chiefly  Arabs,  for  with  the  excep- 
tion of  beautiful  palms  and  acacia  groves  El- 
Fasher  has  nothing  worth  seeing.  The  chil- 
dren had  not  come. 

"Either  Chamis  did  not  catch  the  train  at 
El-Wasta,"  said  Mr.  Tarkowski,  slightly  an- 
noyed, "or  he  may  have  overslept  and  so  took  the 
night  train,  and  they  may  arrive  to-morrow." 

"That  may  be,"  answered  Mr.  Rawlison, 
much  worried,  "but  perhaps  one  of  them  is  ill." 

"If  this  were  so  Stasch  would  have  wired." 

"Who  knows,  perhaps  we  may  find  a  tele- 
gram awaiting  us  at  the  hotel." 

"Let  us  go  and  see." 

But  in  the  hotel  there  was  no  news  for  them. 
Mr.  Rawlison  became  even  more  uneasy. 

"Do  you  know  what  also  might  have  hap- 
pened?" said  Mr.  Tarkowski.  "If,  for  in- 
stance, Chamis  overslept,  he  would  not  have 
told  the  children ;  he  would  merely  go  to  them 
to-day  and  tell  them  that  they  are  to  travel 
to-morrow.  He  will  excuse  himself  to  us  by 
saying  that  he  did  not  understand  our  orders. 
Anyway,  I  will  wire  to  Stasch." 

"And  I  to  the  moodir  of  Favoum." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       65 

Soon  afterward  two  telegrams  were  sent  off. 
As  yet  there  was  no  occasion  to  be  alarmed,  but 
while  awaiting  a  reply  the  engineers  passed  a 
bad  night.  They  were  up  again  early  in  the 
morning. 

Toward  ten  o'clock  a  telegram  arrived  from 
the  moodir  that  read  as  follows: 

"It  has  been  ascertained  at  the  station  that 
the  children  left  the  day  before  for  Gharak  el- 
Sultani." 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  the  fathers  were 
greatly  surprised  and  very  angry  at  this  unex- 
pected news.  For  a  while  they  gazed  at  each 
other,  as  if  they  had  not  understood  the  words 
of  the  telegram ;  then  Mr.  Tarkowski,  who  was 
a  very  excitable  man,  struck  the  table  with  his 
fist  and  said : 

"This  is  Stasch's  work,  but  I  will  soon  cure 
him  of  such  ideas." 

"I  should  never  have  thought  that  of  him," 
answered  Nell's  father.  But  after  a  while  he 
asked : 

"Well,  and  Chamis?" 

"Either  he  has  not  met  them  and  does  not 
know  what  to  do,  or  he  has  gone  in  search  of 
them." 

"That  is  what  I  think." 

An  hour  later  they  left  for  Medinet.  In  the 
tents  they  learned  that  the  camel-drivers  had 
also  departed,  and  at  the  station  it  was  stated 
on  good  authority  that  Chamis  had  left  for  El- 
Gharak  with  the  children. 


66        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Things  looked  darker  and  darker,  and  they 
could  only  be  explained  at  El-Gharak. 

It  was  at  this  station  that  the  terrible  truth 
began  to  unveil  itself. 

The  station-master,  the  same  sleepy  man 
with  the  colored  spectacles  and  the  red  fez,  told 
them  that  he  had  seen  a  boy  about  fourteen 
years  old  and  a  little  girl  eight  years  old  with 
an  elderly  negress,  and  that  they  had  ridden 
toward  the  desert.  He  was  not  quite  sure 
whether  thej^  had  eight  or  nine  camels  with 
them,  but  he  had  noticed  that  one  of  them  was 
laden,  as  if  going  on  a  long  journey,  and  that 
the  two  Bedouins  also  carried  a  great  deal  of 
baggage  on  their  saddles,  and  he  remembered 
that  when  he  had  looked  at  the  caravan  one  of 
the  camel-drivers,  a  Sudanese,  told  him  that 
thej'^  were  the  children  of  Englishmen  who  had 
ridden  to  Wadi  Rayan. 

"Have  these  Englishmen  returned?"  asked 
Mr.  Tarkowski. 

"Yes.  They  returned  yesterdaj^^  with  two 
wolves  they  had  shot,"  answered  the  station- 
master,  "and  I  was  very  much  surprised  that 
they  did  not  bring  the  children  back  with  them. 
But  I  did  not  ask  them  the  reason,  for  it  was 
none  of  my  business." 

With  these  words  he  returned  to  his 
work. 

During  this  explanation  Mr.  Rawlison's  face 
turned  as  white  as  paper.  Looking  at  his 
friend  with  a  wild  stare,  he  raised  his  hat,  lifted 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       67 

his  hand  to  his  perspiring  forehead,  and  stag- 
gered as  if  he  were  about  to  fall. 

"Rawhson,  be  a  man!"  cried  Mr.  Tarkowski. 
"Our  children  have  been  kidnapped.  They 
must  be  saved!" 

"Nell !  Nell !"  repeated  the  unhappy  English- 
man. "Nell  and  Stasch!  It  is  not  Stasch's 
fault!  They  have  both  been  brought  here  by 
treachery  and  then  carried  off.  Who  knows 
why  ?  Perhaps  in  hopes  of  a  ransom.  Chamis 
is  certainly  in  the  plot,  and  so  are  Idris  and 
Gebhr." 

Now  he  remembered  what  Fatima  had  said, 
that  both  these  Sudanese  were  of  the  Dangali 
tribe,  to  which  the  Mahdi  belonged,  and  that 
Chadigi,  the  father  of  Chamis,  was  also  of  the 
same  tribe.  As  he  thought  of  this  his  heart 
nearly  stopped  beating,  for  now  he  knew  that 
the  children  had  not  been  carried  off  in  the 
hopes  of  a  ransom,  but  to  be  exchanged  for 
Smain  and  his  family. 

"But  what  would  the  tribe  of  the  evil-minded 
prophet  do  with  them?  It  would  be  impossible 
for  them  to  hide  themselves  in  the  desert  or 
anywhere  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  for  in 
the  desert  they  would  all  die  of  hunger  and 
thirst,  and  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile  they  would 
be  sure  to  be  discovered.  So  there  was  only 
one  course  for  them  to  pursue,  and  that  was  to 
flee  with  the  children  to  the  Mahdi!" 

This  thought  filled  Mr.  Tarkowski  with 
terror,  but  this  energetic  man,  who  had  for- 


68       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

merly  been  a  soldier,  soon  composed  himself, 
recalled  vividly  to  his  memory  all  that  had  hap- 
pened, and  tried  to  think  of  some  means  of 
rescuing  the  children. 

"Fatima,"  he  reasoned,  "had  no  cause  to  re- 
venge herself  on  our  children;  so  if  they  were 
carried  off  it  was  only  to  give  them  into  Smain's 
hands.  There  is  no  possibility  of  their  being 
threatened  with  death,  and  in  misfortune  that 
is  something;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  road 
that  lies  before  them  may  lead  to  their  de- 
struction." 

He  told  Mr.  Rawlison  what  he  thought,  then 
he  continued: 

"Idris  and  Gebhr,  savage  and  ignorant  men, 
think  that  the  hosts  of  the  Mahdi  are  not  far 
off,  but  the  Mahdi  has  advanced  as  far  as 
Khartum,  which  is  about  two  thousand  kilo- 
meters from  here.  This  distance  they  would 
have  to  travel  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile ;  they 
can  not  leave  this  route,  for  if  they  do  the 
camels  and  the  people  would  die  of  thirst.  Go 
immediately  to  Cairo  and  ask  the  Khedive  to 
send  telegrams  to  every  military  station  and 
make  a  raid  on  both  banks  of  the  river.  The 
sheiks  on  the  banks  must  be  offered  a  large 
reward  for  the  capture  of  the  kidnappers. 
Every  one  coming  to  the  villages  to  get  water 
must  be  held  up.  In  this  way  Idris  and  Gebhr 
will  surely  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  law,  and 
we  will  have  our  children  once  more." 

Mr.  Rawlison  had  regained  his  composure. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       69 

"I  will  go,"  he  said.  "These  villains  have 
forgotten  that  England's  army  under  Wol- 
seley  is  now  hastening  to  the  aid  of  Gordon  and, 
will  separate  them  from  the  Mahdi.  They 
shall  not  escape.  They  can  not  escape !  I  will 
send  a  telegram  to  our  minister  at  once  and 
then  I  shall  go.    What  do  you  intend  to  do?" 

"I  shall  telegraph  for  leave  of  absence,  and 
without  waiting  for  a  reply  I  shall  follow  in 
their  footsteps  along  the  Nile  to  Nubia,  to  di- 
rect the  search." 

"Then  we  shall  meet,  for  I  also  intend  doing 
likewise  from  Cairo  on." 

"All  right!    And  now  to  work !" 

"With  God's  help!"  answered  Mr.  Rawlison. 

CHAPTER   VII 

MEANWHILE  the  camels  stormed  like  a  hur- 
ricane over  the  sand  glistening  in  the 
moonlight.  It  was  night.  The  moon,  at  first 
red  and  large  as  a  wheel,  paled  and  rose  higher. 
The  distant  heights  of  the  desert  were  covered 
with  a  muslin-like,  silvery  mist,  which  instead 
of  hiding  them  from  view  clothed  them  with  a 
mysterious  light.  Ever  and  anon  the  plaintive 
whining  of  jackals  rang  out  from  among  the 
scattered  rocks. 

Still  another  hour  passed.  Stasch  put  his 
arm  around  Nell  to  support  her  and  to  lessen 
the  springing  swing  of  this  wild  ride,  which  was 
most  fatiguing  to  the  girl.    The  girl  asked  her- 


70       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

self  over  and  over  again  why  they  were 
racing  so  and  why  they  did  not  see  their 
fathers'  tents.  At  last  Stasch  decided  to  tell 
her  the  truth,  which  sooner  or  later  must  come 
to  light. 

"Nell,"  he  said,  "take  off  one  glove  and  let 
it  drop  without  attracting  attention." 

"Why,  Stasch?" 

He  pressed  her  to  him  and  answered  with 
an  unusual  apprehensiveness  in  his  voice: 

"Do  as  I  tell  you." 

Nell  held  on  to  Stasch  with  one  hand,  and 
as  she  was  afraid  to  let  go,  she  began  to  draw 
off  the  glove  with  her  little  teeth,  each  finger 
separately,  and  when  she  had  pulled  it  entirely 
off,  she  let  it  drop  to  the  ground. 

"After  a  little  while  throw  the  other  down 
also,"  said  Stasch  a  few  minutes  later.  "I  have 
thrown  mine  away,  but  yours  can  be  seen  better 
because  tliey  are  light." 

He  noticed  that  the  girl  looked  questioningly 
at  him,  and  continued: 

"Nell!  Do  not  be  frightened!  But,  you 
see — it  is  possible  that  we  may  not  meet  your 
father  or  mine,  and  that  these  horrid  people 
have  carried  us  off.  But  don't  be  frightened, 
for  if  that  is  the  case,  an  expedition  will  be  sent 
after  us  and  we  shall  be  overtaken  and  brought 
back.  That  is  why  I  told  you  to  drop  your 
glove,  so  that  the  searchers  can  trace  us. 
Meanwhile  we  can  do  nothing  more,  but  later 
I  will  think  of  something.     I  am  sure  I  can 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       71 

think  of  something,  but  don't  be  afraid,  just 
have  faith  in  me." 

After  having  learned  that  she  would  not  see 
her  father,  and  that  they  were  fleeing  far  into 
the  desert,  Nell  began  to  tremble  from  fright 
and  to  cry ;  at  the  same  time  she  nestled  closer 
to  Stasch,  and  sobbingly  asked  him  why  they 
had  been  carried  off  and  where  they  were  being 
taken  to.  He  consoled  her  as  best  he  could, 
using  almost  the  same  words  with  which  his 
father  had  consoled  Mr.  Rawlison.  He  said 
that  their  fathers  would  follow  them  and  com- 
municate the  news  to  all  the  garrisons  along  the 
Nile.  He  assured  her  that  whatever  hap- 
pened he  would  never  leave  her  and  that  he 
would  always  protect  her. 

But  her  longing  for  her  father  and  her  desire 
to  see  him  overcame  her  fear,  and  she  continued 
to  weep  for  a  long  while.  Thus  they  raced 
through  the  bright  night,  over  the  desert  sand, 
both  feeling  very  sad.  But  Stasch  was  not 
only  completely  discouraged  and  frightened, 
but  thoroughly  ashamed.  It  is  true  he  was  not 
to  blame  for  what  had  happened,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  remembered  how  he  used  to  brag 
and  how  his  father  had  often  corrected  him  for 
it.  Before  this  he  had  been  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  there  could  be  no  situation  too  great 
for  him  to  meet;  he  had  considered  himself  an 
invincible  bully,  and  felt  ready  to  challenge 
the  whole  world.  But  now  he  realized  that  he 
was  a  small  boy  with  whom  any  one  could  do 


72        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

as  he  liked,  and  that  he  was  galloping  along  on 
a  camel  against  his  will,  because  a  half -savage 
Sudanese  drove  it  from  behind.  This  was  a 
great  mortification  to  him,  but  he  saw  it  was 
impossible  to  make  any  resistance.  He  was 
obliged  to  acknowledge  to  himself  that  he  was 
really  afraid  of  these  people  and  the  desert, 
and  that  he  dreaded  what  might  still  be  in  store 
for  him  and  Nell.  But  he  faithfully  promised 
not  only  her,  but  himself  also,  that  he  would 
look  after  her  and  protect  her,  if  need  be  at  the 
cost  of  his  own  life. 

Nell,  tired  out  from  crying  and  the  wild  ride, 
which  had  now  lasted  six  hours,  began  to  doze, 
and  from  time  to  time  went  fast  asleep. 
Stasch,  who  knew  that  to  fall  off  a  galloping 
camel  means  instant  death,  tied  her  fast  to  him 
with  a  rope  which  he  found  on  the  saddle.  But 
after  a  while  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  camels 
were  not  galloping  so  fast,  although  they  were 
now  running  over  flat,  soft  sand.  In  the  dis- 
tance glowing  heights  appeared  to  loom,  and 
on  the  plains  imaginary  objects,  apt  to  be  seen 
at  night  in  the  desert,  came  and  went  in  fan- 
tastic fashion.  The  moon  shone  paler  and 
paler  from  the  heavens.  Before  them  peculiar, 
pinkish,  transparent  clouds  massed  themselves 
at  random  and  glided  away  as  if  blown  along 
by  gentle  zephyrs.  Stasch  noticed  that  the 
camels  and  the  burnooses  of  the  Bedouins  in 
coming  into  illuminated  places  suddenly  as- 
sumed a  pinkish  hue,  and  that  a  delicate  pink 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       73 

enveloped  the  whole  caravan.  Sometimes  the 
clouds  changed  to  a  bluish  hue.  This  phe- 
nomenon continued  until  they  reached  the 
heights. 

On  arriving  at  this  chain  of  hills  the  camels 
slowed  down  still  more.  On  every  side  were 
rocks,  which  either  protruded  from  the 
sandy  hillocks  or  were  strewn  about  in  the 
wildest  confusion.  The  ground  had  become 
stony.  They  passed  several  depressions 
strewn  with  stones  and  resembling  dried-up 
beds  of  rivers.  Sometimes  they  came  upon 
narrow  passes,  which  they  were  obliged  to  ride 
around.  The  animals  began  to  step  more 
carefully,  hfting  up  their  feet  as  if  dancing, 
when  picking  their  way  through  the  hard 
shrubs  of  Jericho  roses,  with  which  the  sand- 
dunes  and  rocks  were  plentifully  covered.  The 
camels  stumbled  frequently,  and  it  was  evident 
they  needed  a  rest. 

The  Bedouins  then  halted  in  a  narrow,  aban- 
doned pass,  slid  out  of  their  saddles,  and  com- 
menced to  unload  the  baggage.  Idris  and 
Gebhr  followed  their  example.  They  began 
to  look  after  the  camels,  to  loosen  their  saddles, 
to  take  down  the  provisions,  and  to  look  for  flat 
stones  on  which  to  build  a  fire.  They  could 
find  neither  wood  nor  manure,  which  the  Arabs 
burn,  but  Chamis,  Chadigi's  son,  picked 
Jericho  roses,  heaping  them  up  in  a  large  pile, 
and  lighted  them.  Whilst  the  Sudanese  were 
busy  with  the  camels,  Stasch,  Nell,  and  old 


74        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Dinah,  the  nurse,  found  themselves  together  a 
little  apart  from  the  others.  But  Dinah  was 
more  overcome  than  the  children  and  was  un- 
able to  say  a  word.  After  wrapping  Nell  up  in  a 
warm  rug,  she  sat  down  on  the  ground  beside 
her  and  began  to  kiss  her  hands  and  to  sigh. 
Stasch  immediately  asked  Chamis  what  was  the 
meaning  of  all  that  had  taken  place,  but  the 
latter  showed  his  white  teeth  as  he  laughed 
and  went  off  to  collect  more  Jericho  roses. 
Then  Stasch  asked  Idris,  who  answered  curtly : 
"You  will  see,"  and  threatened  him  with  his 
finger.  When  at  last  the  fire  from  the  rose 
branches,  which  at  first  only  flickered,  burst 
into  flame,  every  one  sat  around  it  in  a  circle — 
except  Gebhr,  who  remained  with  the  camels — 
and  they  began  to  eat  little  cakes  of  maize  and 
dried  lamb  and  goat's  meat.  The  children, 
ravenously  hungry  after  the  long  journey,  ate 
also,  although  Nell's  eyes  continually  closed  in 
sleep;  but  meanwhile  by  the  pale  light  of  the 
fire  Gebhr's  dark  face  with  its  shining  eyes  ap- 
peared, as  he  held  up  two  small,  light-colored 
gloves  and  asked: 

"To  whom  do  these  belong?" 

"To  me !"  answered  Nell  in  a  sleepy  and  tired 
voice. 

"To  you,  you  little  viper,"  hissed  the  Sudan- 
ese through  his  clenched  teeth.  "Are  you 
marking  the  way  so  that  your  father  can  trace 
us?" 

Furiously    angry,    he    beat    her    with    his 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       75 

scourge,  a  terrible  Arabian  whip,  which  will 
tear  open  even  the  skin  of  a  camel.  Although 
Nell  was  covered  with  a  thick  rug,  she  screamed 
out  with  fright  and  pain,  but  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  giving  her  a  second  blow,  for  Stasch 
immediately  jumped  up  like  a  wild-cat,  threw 
his  head  against  Gebhr's  chest,  and  grasped  him 
by  the  throat.  So  suddenly  did  this  happen 
that  the  Sudanese  fell  on  his  back  with  Stasch 
on  top  of  him,  and  they  both  rolled  over  and 
over  on  the  ground.  The  boy  was  very  strong 
for  his  age,  but  Gebhr  was  soon  able  to  over- 
come him.  At  first  he  loosened  his  hands  from 
his  throat,  then  threw  him  face  downward  on 
the  ground,  and  pressing  down  his  neck  with 
his  fist,  began  to  use  the  scourge  on  his 
back. 

The  screams  and  cries  of  Nell,  who  grasped 
the  hands  of  the  savage  and  begged  him  to  let 
Stasch  up,  would  have  been  of  no  avail  had  not 
Idris  unexpectedly  come  to  the  boy's  rescue. 
He  was  older  and  much  stronger  than  Gebhr, 
and  from  the  beginning  of  their  flight  from 
Gharak  el-Sultani  every  one  obeyed  his  orders. 
Now  he  tore  the  scourge  out  of  his  brother's 
hand,  and  throwing  it  far  away,  cried: 

"Begone,  you  fool!" 

"I  shall  beat  this  scorpion  to  death!"  an- 
swered Gebhr,  grinding  his  teeth. 

But  Idris  caught  hold  of  him  by  the  chest, 
and  looking  him  in  the  eyes  said  in  a  threaten- 
ing undertone: 


76       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"The  noble^  Fatima  has  forbidden  us  to  hurt 
these  children,  for  they  pleaded  for  her — " 

"I  shall  beat  him  to  death!"  repeated  Gebhr. 

"And  I  tell  you  that  you  shall  not  lift  the 
scourge  against  either  of  them  again.  If  you 
do  I  will  repay  you  ten  times  over  each  lash 
that  you  inflict." 

Then  he  tossed  and  shook  him  like  a  palm 
branch,  and  continued: 

"These  children  are  Smain's  property,  and 
should  one  of  them  not  arrive  alive,  the  Mahdi 
himself,  may  God  increase  his  days  even  more, 
would  hang  you.  Do  you  understand,  you 
fool?" 

The  name  of  the  Mahdi  had  such  an  influ- 
ence on  all  his  believers  that  Gebhr  immediately 
hung  his  head,  and  with  great  respect  and 
fright  continually  repeated : 

"Allah  akbar!    Allah  akbar!" 

Stasch  arose,  panting  and  bruised,  but  con- 
vinced that  if  his  father  were  to  see  and  hear 
him  now  he  would  be  proud  of  him,  for  not  only 
had  he  run  to  Nell's  assistance  without  hesi- 
tation, but  even  now,  although  the  blows  from 
the  scourge  burned  him  like  fire,  he  did  not 
think  of  his  own  pain,  but  began  to  console 
the  girl  and  to  ask  her  if  the  lashes  had  hurt 
her. 

"What  I  got,  I  got;  but  he  will  not  touch 
you  again.  Oh,  if  I  only  had  some  kind  of  a 
weapon!" 

'All  the  relatives  of  the  Mahdi  bore  the  title  "Noble" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       77 

The  little  girl  put  both  arms  around  his  neck, 
and  moistening  his  cheeks  with  her  tears,  she 
began  to  assure  him  that  it  did  not  hurt,  and 
that  she  did  not  cry  from  pain,  but  out  of  sym- 
pathy for  him.  Thereupon  Stasch  whispered 
close  to  her  ear: 

"Nell,  I  swear  I  will  not  forgive  him — not  be- 
cause he  beat  me,  but  because  he  struck  you!" 

With  that  the  conversation  came  to  an  end. 
After  a  while  the  brothers  Idris  and  Gebhr, 
who  had  become  reconciled,  placed  coats  on  the 
ground  and  lay  down  on  them,  and  soon 
Chamis  followed  their  example.  The  Bedouins 
strewed  maize  around  for  the  camels.  Then 
they  mounted  two  of  the  animals  and  rode  off 
in  the  direction  of  the  Nile. 

Nell  leaned  her  little  head  on  Dinah's  knee 
and  fell  asleep.  The  fire  went  out  and  for  a 
while  nothing  was  heard  but  the  noise  of  the 
camels'  teeth  crunching  the  maize.  Small 
clouds  appeared  in  the  heavens,  and  though 
they  now  and  then  obscured  the  moon,  the 
night  continued  clear.  From  among  the  rocks 
came  the  ceaseless,  pitiful  whining  of  jackals 
throughout  the  deep  hours  of  the  night. 

Two  hours  after  their  departure  the  Bedou- 
ins reappeared  with  the  camels,  which  were 
loaded  with  leather  bags  filled  with  water.  Re- 
lighting the  fire,  they  sat  down  on  the  sand 
and  began  to  eat.  Their  arrival  awoke  Stasch, 
who  had  fallen  asleep,  and  also  the  two  Sudan- 
ese and  Chamis.     Then  began  the  following 


78        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

conversation  by  the  group  seated  around  the 
fire,  to  which  Stasch  was  an  eager  Hstener: 

"Can  we  ride  on?"  asked  Idris. 

"No,  for  we  must  rest — we  and  our  camels." 

"Did  any  one  see  you?" 

"No  one.  We  advanced  between  two  ham- 
lets toward  the  river.  We  heard  nothing  but 
the  barking  of  dogs  in  the  distance." 

"We  shall  always  have  to  ride  off  for  water 
at  midnight,  and  fetch  it  from  deserted  places. 
When  we  pass  the  first  cataract  (Challal, 
Schellal)  the  villages  will  be  farther  apart  and 
the  people  more  devoted  to  the  Prophet.  We 
will  certainly  be  pursued." 

Thereupon  Chamis  turned  over,  and  sup- 
porting his  head  on  his  hands,  said : 

"The  Mehendisi  will  wait  a  whole  night  in 
El-Fasher  for  the  children  to  come  on  the  next 
train,  and  then  they  will  go  to  Fayoum,  and 
from  there  to  Gharak.  Not  till  they  reach  the 
latter  place  can  they  find  out  what  has  hap- 
pened, and  then  they  will  have  to  return  to 
Medinet,  to  send  words  along  a  copper  wire 
to  the  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile — and 
men  on  camels  will  pursue  us.  All  this  will 
take  three  daj^s  at  least.  We  need  not  urge 
our  camels  on  before  then,  and  so  we  can  smoke 
our  pipes  in  comfort." 

At  these  words  he  took  a  burning  rose  twig 
from  the  fire  and  lighted  his  pipe  with  it.  Then 
Idris  began,  after  the  Arabian  custom,  to  show 
his  satisfaction  by  smacking  his  lips. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       79 

"Chadigi's  son,  you  have  brought  the  matter 
off  well,"  he  said,  "but  we  must  make  use  of 
these  three  days  and  nights  to  advance  as  far 
as  possible  toward  the  south.  I  shall  not 
breathe  freely  until  we  have  passed  over  the 
desert  between  the  Nile  and  Chargeh/  Pray 
God  that  the  camels  do  not  give  out." 

"They  will  stand  it,"  remarked  one  of  the 
Bedouins. 

"The  people  also  say,"  Chamis  interposed, 
"that  the  Mahdi's  soldiers — God  lengthen  his 
life — have  already  got  as  far  as  Assuan." 

Stasch,  who  had  not  lost  a  word  of  this  con- 
versation, and  had  also  noted  what  Idris  had 
told  Gebhr  before,  arose  and  said: 

"The  army  of  the  Mahdi  is  near  Khartum." 

"La!  La!  (No!  No!)"  said  Chamis. 

"Do  not  listen  to  his  words,"  answered 
Stasch,  "for  he  not  only  has  a  dark  skin,  but  a 
dark  brain.  If  you  were  to  buy  fresh  camels 
every  three  days  and  race  as  you  have  done 
to-day,  it  would  take  you  a  month  to  reach 
Khartum.  Perhaps  you  do  not  know  that  not 
only  the  Egyptian,  but  the  English  army  also, 
will  hold  you  up." 

These  words  made  somewhat  of  an  impres- 
sion, and  Stasch,  aware  of  it,  continued : 

"Before  you  are  between  the  Nile  and  the 
great  oasis  all  the  roads  in  the  desert  will  be 
guarded  by  a  number  of  soldiers.  Ha!  The 
words  on  the  copper  wire  run  quicker  than  the 

'A  large  oasis  to  the  west  of  the  Nile. 


80        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

camels.  How  will  you  ever  be  able  to  escape 
them?" 

"The  desert  is  large,"  answered  one  of  the 
Bedouins. 

"But  you  have  to  keep  near  the  Nile." 

"We  can  cross  to  the  other  side,  and  while 
they  are  looking  for  us  on  this  side  we  shall 
be  on  the  other." 

"The  words  running  over  the  copper  wires 
will  reach  the  towns  and  villages  on  both  banks 
of  the  river." 

"The  Mahdi  will  send  us  an  angel,  who  will 
place  his  fingers  on  the  eyes  of  the  English 
and  Turks  (Egyptians),  and  he  will  cover  us 
over  with  his  wings." 

"Idris,"  said  Stasch,  "I  am  not  speaking  to 
Chamis,  whose  head  is  as  empty  as  a  gourd 
bottle,  nor  to  Gebhr,  who  is  an  infamous  jackal, 
but  to  you ;  I  know  that  you  want  to  bring  us 
to  the  Mahdi  and  deliver  us  over  to  Smain. 
But  if  you  are  doing  it  to  gain  money,  then 
know  that  this  little  girl's  father  is  richer  than 
all  the  Sudanese  together." 

"And  what  does  that  mean?"  interrupted 
Idris. 

"What  does  it  mean?  Return  of  your  own 
free  will  and  the  great  Mehendisi  will  not  be 
sparing  of  his  money,  neither  will  my  father." 

"Or  they  will  hand  us  over  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  we  will  be  hanged." 

"No,  Idris.  You  will  certainly  be  hanged 
if  you  are  caught  in  your  flight — that  is  sure 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       81 

to  happen.  But  if  you  return  voluntarily  you 
will  not  be  punished ;  moreover,  you  will  be  rich 
men  till  the  end  of  your  days.  You  know  that 
the  white  people  of  Europe  always  keep  their 
word.  And  I  give  you  the  word  of  honor  of 
both  Mehendisi  that  it  is  so,  and  that  it  will  be 
as  I  say." 

Stasch  was  really  convinced  that  his  father 
and  Mr.  Rawlison  would  a  thousand  times 
rather  keep  the  promise  he  made  than  to  let 
them  both,  especially  Nell,  take  such  a  terrible 
journey  and  lead  a  still  more  terrible  life  in 
the  midst  of  the  savage  and  angry  tribes  of  the 
Mahdi.  So  he  waited  with  beating  heart  for 
Idris  to  answer,  but  the  latter  was  wrapt  in 
silence ;  and  after  a  while  he  merely  said : 

"You  say  the  father  of  the  little  girl  and 
yours  would  give  us  a  great  deal  of  money?" 

"That  is  so." 

"And  would  all  their  money  be  able  to  un- 
lock the  gates  of  Paradise  for  us,  which  the 
blessing  of  the  Mahdi  opens?" 

"Bismillah!"  hereupon  cried  the  two  Bedou- 
ins and  Gebhr  and  Chamis. 

Stasch  now  lost  all  hope,  for  he  knew  that 
though  Orientals  are  very  greedy  for  money 
and  are  easily  corrupted,  when  a  real  Moham- 
medan looks  at  anything  from  a  religious  point 
of  view  no  treasures  of  this  world  can  tempt 
him. 

Idris,  encouraged  by  the  assenting  cries  of 
his  fellows,  continued  to  talk,  not  apparently 


82        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

in  answer  to  Stasch,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
gaining  their  further  approval  and  praise. 

"We  are  fortunate  enough  to  belong  to  the 
same  tribe  as  the  holy  prophet,  but  the  noble 
Fatima  and  her  children  are  his  relatives,  and 
the  great  Mahdi  loves  them.  So  when  we  de- 
liver you  and  this  little  girl  into  his  hands  he 
will  exchange  you  for  Fatima  and  her  children 
and  bless  us.  Know  that  even  the  water  in 
which  he  bathes  in  the  morning  will,  according 
to  the  Koran,  heal  the  sick  and  wash  away 
sins.  How  powerful  must  his  blessing  then 
be?" 

"Bismillah!"  repeated  the  Sudanese  and  the 
Bedouins. 

But  Stasch,  grasping  the  last  thread  of  hope, 
said:  "Then  take  me  along,  but  the  Bedouins 
must  return  with  the  little  girl.  They  will  de- 
liver Fatima  and  her  children  in  exchange  for 
me  alone." 

"They  are  more  likety  to  give  them  up  in 
exchange  for  you  both." 

Thereupon  the  boy  turned  to  Chamis: 

"Your  father  will  have  to  bear  the  brunt  of 
your  deeds." 

"My  father  is  now  in  the  desert  on  his  way 
to  the  prophet,"  answered  Chamis. 

"Then  he  will  be  caught  and  hanged." 

But  here  Idris  thought  it  better  to  encourage 
his  comrades. 

"The  hawks,"  he  said,  "who  are  to  eat  the 
flesh  of  our  bones  are  not  yet  hatched.     We 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       83 

know  what  threatens,  but  we  are  no  longer 
children,  and  we  have  been  familiar  with  the 
desert  for  some  time.  These  people,"  point- 
ing to  the  Bedouins,  "have  often  been  in  Bar- 
bary,  and  they  know  the  roads  that  are  trav- 
ersed only  by  gazels.  There  no  one  will  find 
us  and  no  one  will  follow  us.  We  must  go  to 
Bahr-Yoosuf  and  then  to  the  Nile  to  draw 
water,  but  we  shall  do  that  by  night.  And 
besides,  do  you  suppose  that  there  are  no  secret 
friends  of  the  Mahdi  by  the  river?  Let  me 
tell  you  that  the  further  south  we  go,  the  surer 
we  are  of  finding  whole  tribes  and  their  sheiks 
only  waiting  for  an  occasion  to  grasp  their 
swords  in  defense  of  the  true  faith.  These 
tribes  will  give  the  camels  food  and  water  and 
set  the  pursuers  on  the  wrong  track.  We  know 
that  the  Mahdi  is  far  away,  but  we  also  know 
that  every  day  brings  us  nearer  to  the  sheep- 
skin on  which  the  holy  prophet  kneels  to 
pray." 

"Bismillah!"  cried  his  comrades  for  the  third 
time. 

It  was  evident  that  Idris  had  greatly  risen  in 
their  estimation.  Stasch  realized  that  every- 
thing was  lost,  but  thinking  that  at  any  rate  he 
could  protect  Nell  from  the  fury  of  the  Su- 
danese, he  said:  "After  a  ride  of  six  hours  the 
little  lady  has  reached  here  half  dead.  How  do 
you  suppose  that  she  will  stand  such  a  long 
journey?  If  she  dies,  I  shall  die,  too,  and  who 
will  you  then  have  to  take  to  the  Mahdi?" 


84       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

At  first  Idris  could  not  answer.  Stasch,  see- 
ing this,  continued: 

"And  how  will  the  Mahdi  and  Smain  receive 
you  when  they  learn  that  through  your  stu- 
pidity Fatima  and  her  children  must  forfeit 
their  lives?" 

But  the  Sudanese  collected  himself  and  said: 

"I  saw  how  you  seized  Gebhr  by  the  throat. 
By  Allah,  you  are  a  young  lion,  and  will  not 
die,  and  she " 

Here  he  looked  at  Nell's  little  head  leaning 
up  against  old  Dinah's  knees,  and  in  a  pecul- 
iarly soft  voice  he  concluded: 

"We  will  make  a  nest,  a  little  bird's  nest, 
for  her  on  the  hump  of  the  camel,  so  that  she 
will  not  feel  the  fatigue  and  can  sleep  on  the 
way  as  peacefully  as  she  is  sleeping  now." 

As  he  said  this  he  went  toward  the  camels, 
and  with  the  help  of  the  Bedouins  began  to 
prepare  a  seat  for  the  girl  on  the  back  of  the 
best  dromedary.  While  doing  this  they  talked 
a  great  deal,  and  argued  a  little;  but  at  last 
they  were  able  to  arrange,  with  the  help  of 
ropes,  rugs,  and  bamboo  rods,  something  like 
a  deep,  immovable  basket,  in  which  Nell  could 
either  sit  or  lie  down,  but  from  which  she  could 
not  fall.  Over  this  seat,  which  was  so  spacious 
that  Dinah  also  found  room  in  it,  they  stretched 
a  canvas  roof. 

"Do  you  see,"  said  Idris  to  Stasch,  "quails' 
eggs  would  not  break  in  these  cloth  rugs.  The 
old  woman  will  ride  with  the  little  lady,  so  that 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       85 

she  can  wait  on  her  night  and  day.  You  will 
sit  with  me  on  another  camel,  but  you  can  ride 
alongside  of  her  and  take  care  of  her." 

Stasch  was  glad  that  he  had  at  last  gained 
that  much.  Thinking  over  the  situation,  he 
became  convinced  that  possibly  they  would  be 
found  before  they  reached  the  first  cataract, 
and  this  thought  gave  him  courage.  But  he 
needed  sleep,  and  he  attempted  to  fasten  him- 
self to  the  saddle  with  ropes,  for  as  it  was  not 
necessary  to  support  Nell  any  longer,  he 
thought  he  might  get  a  few  hours'  rest. 

The  night  was  now  brighter,  and  the  jackals 
stopped  whining  in  the  narrow  passes.  The 
caravan  was  to  start  directly,  but  first  the 
Sudanese,  on  seeing  the  sunrise,  went  behind 
a  rock  a  few  steps  off,  and  there  began  their 
morning  ablutions,  following  out  exactly  the 
instructions  of  the  Koran,  but  instead  of  water, 
which  they  wanted  to  save,  they  used  sand. 
Then  they  raised  their  voices,  and  went  through 
the  first  morning  prayer.  In  the  great  stillness 
their  words  rang  out  distinctly:  "In  the  name 
of  the  merciful  and  pitying  God.  Glory  and 
honor  be  to  the  Lord,  the  ruler  of  the  world, 
who  shows  mercy  and  pity  on  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. We  honor  Thee,  we  confess  to  Thee,  we 
beg  help  of  Thee.  Lead  us  on  in  the  path  of 
those  for  whom  Thou  dost  not  spare  Thy  bene- 
fits, but  not  in  the  ways  of  evildoers,  who  have 
incurred  Thy  anger,  and  live  in  sin.    Amen." 

When   Stasch  heard  these   words  he   also 


86        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

raised  his  eyes  to  heaven — and  in  this  distant 
country,  in  the  midst  of  the  yellow,  silent  sand 
of  the  desert  plains,  he  began: 

"We  fly  to  thy  patronage,  O  holy  Mother 
of  God,  despise  not  our  petitions  in  our  neces- 
sities!" 


CHAPTER   VIII 

NIGHT  faded  away.  They  were  just  about 
to  mount  the  camels  when  they  suddenly 
perceived  a  desert  wolf,  which,  dropping  its 
tail  between  its  legs,  crossed  over  the  narrow 
pass  that  lay  about  a  hundred  feet  from  the 
caravan,  and  gaining  the  opposite  plateau,  ran 
on,  terrified,  as  if  fleeing  before  an  enemy.  In 
the  Egyptian  wilderness  there  are  no  wild 
animals  of  which  wolves  are  afraid,  and  there- 
fore this  sight  greatly  worried  the  Sudanese. 
What  could  this  mean?  Could  it  be  that  the 
pursuers  were  coming  upon  them?  One  of 
the  Bedouins  quickly  climbed  a  rock,  but  hardly 
had  he  taken  a  look  than  he  ran  down 
again. 

"By  the  prophet,"  he  cried,  distracted  and 
frightened.  "There  seems  to  be  a  lion  running 
toward  us,  and  he  is  already  quite  near." 

Just  then  from  behind  the  rock  a  "Wu'rgh"  in 
a  deep  bass  voice  was  heard,  at  which  Stasch 
and  Nell  with  one  voice  cried  out  with  joy: 

"Saba!    Saba!" 

As  this  means  "lion"  in  Arabic,  the  Bedou- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       87 

ins  were  still  more  frightened.  But  Chamis 
laughed  out  loud  and  said: 

"I  know  this  lion." 

With  these  words  he  gave  a  long  whistle, 
whereupon  an  enormous  dog  rushed  among  the 
camels.  When  he  saw  the  children  he  bounded 
upon  them,  threw  Nell  down  as  she  stretched 
out  her  hands  toward  him,  climbed  up  on 
Stasch,  then  ran  around  them,  whining  and 
barking.  Again  he  knocked  Nell  down,  again 
climbed  up  on  Stasch,  and  at  last  lay  down  at 
their  feet  and  began  to  pant. 

His  flanks  were  sunken  in  and  froth  dripped 
from  his  protruding  tongue,  but  he  wagged 
his  tail  and  raised  his  eyes,  looking  affection- 
ately at  Nell,  as  if  to  say  to  her:  "Your  father 
told  me  to  protect  you,  and  here  I  am!" 

The  children  sat  down  on  either  side  of  him 
and  began  to  caress  him.  The  two  Bedouins, 
who  had  never  seen  a  similar  creature  before, 
looked  at  him  with  surprise,  and  repeatedly 
cried  out:  "Ouallach!  O  kelb  kebir!"  (Great 
heavens!  What  a  large  dog!).  The  latter  re- 
mained quiet  for  a  while,  then  raised  his  head 
in  the  air  and  drew  in  his  breath  through  his 
black  nose,  which  resembled  an  enormous 
truffle,  sniffed,  and  sprang  to  the  dying  fire, 
near  which  lay  remains  of  food. 

At  the  same  moment  the  goat  and  sheep 
bones  began  to  crack  and  break  like  straws 
between  his  enormous  teeth.  The  remains  of  a 
meal  for  eight  people,  including  Dinah  and 


88        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Nell,  were  enough  for  even  such  a  "kelb 
kebir." 

But  the  Sudanese  were  worried  at  the  dog's 
arrival;  the  two  camel-drivers  drew  Chamis  to 
one  side  and  began  to  talk  to  him  in  a  worried 
and  excited  manner: 

"Idris  brought  this  dog  here,"  cried  Gebhr; 
"but  how  was  he  able  to  find  his  way  to  the 
children,  for  they  came  to  Gharak  by  train?" 

"Probably  he  followed  the  tracks  of  the 
camels,"  answered  Chamis. 

"That  is  bad.  Any  one  seeing  him  with  us 
will  mark  our  caravan,  and  will  be  able  to  show 
which  road  we  have  taken.  By  all  hazards  we 
must  get  rid  of  him!" 

"But  how?"  asked  Chamis. 

"Here's  a  gun — take  it  and  put  a  bullet  in 
his  head." 

"It  is  true  we  have  a  gun;  but  I  don't  know 
how  to  fire  it.     Perhaps  j^ou  do." 

Chamis  might  have  been  able  to  fire  it  off  in 
case  of  necessity,  for  Stasch  had  often  opened 
and  shut  the  lock  of  the  gun  in  his  presence; 
but  his  sympathy  was  aroused  by  the  dog,  which 
he  had  grown  to  like,  even  before  the  arrival  of 
the  children  in  INIedinet.  Besides,  he  knew  very 
well  that  the  two  Sudanese  had  no  idea  how  to 
use  a  gun  of  the  newest  pattern,  and  that  they 
would  not  take  the  trouble  to  find  out. 

"If  you  are  unable  to  do  it,"  he  said  with  a 
cunning  smile,  "then  no  one  but  this  little 
Christian  will  be  able  to  kill  the  dog;  but  this 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       89 

gun  might  go  off  several  times  in  succession, 
and  so  I  do  not  advise  you  to  give  it  into  his 
hands." 

"Heaven  forbid!"  answered  Idris.  "He 
would  shoot  us  down  like  quail." 

"We  have  knives,"  remarked  Gebhr. 

"Try  them,  but  remember  that  you  also  have 
a  throat,  which  the  dog  may  tear  open  before 
you  have  time  to  stab  him." 

"Then  what  are  we  to  do?" 

Chamis  raised  his  eyebrows. 

"Why  do  you  want  to  kill  the  dog?  Even 
if  you  bury  him  in  the  sand  the  hyenas  will  dig 
him  out,  and  the  pursuers  will  find  his  bones 
and  know  that  we  have  not  gone  along  the 
Nile,  but  have  crossed  over  to  this  side.  So  let 
him  follow  us.  Whenever  the  Bedouins  go  for 
water,  and  we  are  hidden  in  a  ravine,  you  may 
be  sure  that  the  dog  will  stay  with  the  chil- 
dren.   Allah!" 

"It  is  well  he  caught  up  to  us  here;  otherwise 
he  would  have  led  the  pursuers  on  our  tracks 
as  far  as  Barbary.  You  will  not  need  to  feed 
him,  for  if  he  is  not  satisfied  with  the  remnants 
of  our  meals  he  will  not  go  hungry;  he  can 
always  catch  a  hyena  or  a  jackal.  Let  him 
alone,  I  tell  you,  and  waste  no  more  time  chat- 
tering." 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,"  said  Idris. 

"If  I  am  right,  I  will  give  him  water,  so  that 
he  will  not  run  to  the  Nile  and  be  seen  in  the 
villages." 


90       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Thus  was  Saba's  fate  decided,  and  after  hav- 
ing rested  a  little  and  had  a  good  meal  he 
lapped  up  a  dish  of  water,  and  thus  refreshed, 
followed  the  caravan  with  renewed  energy. 

They  now  rode  over  a  tableland,  on  which 
the  wind  had  made  furrows  of  sand,  and  from 
which  reached  wide  stretches  of  desert.  The 
sky  assumed  the  hue  of  a  pearl  mussel- 
shell.  Light  clouds  gathered  in  the  east, 
shining  like  opals,  and  then  melting  into  golden 
tints. 

First  one,  then  a  second  ray  of  light  shot 
forth,  and  the  sun — as  is  usual  in  southern 
countries,  in  which  there  is  scarcely  any  twi- 
light or  dawn — did  not  rise,  but  burst  forth 
from  behind  the  clouds  like  a  pillar  of  fire, 
flooding  the  horizon  with  living  light.  Heaven 
and  earth  were  calm,  and  far  as  human  eyes 
could  see  lay  the  trackless  sand  plains,  now  sud- 
denly disclosed  in  the  vivid  glow. 

"We  must  hurry,"  said  Idris,  "for  we  can 
be  seen  here  from  a  great  distance." 

The  camels,  strengthened  by  their  rest,  and 
having  had  plenty  to  drink,  raced  along  with 
the  fleetness  of  gazels.  Saba  remained  be- 
hind, but  there  was  no  fear  that  he  would  get 
lost  and  not  be  forthcoming  at  the  next  feed- 
ing-place. The  dromedary  on  which  Idris  rode 
with  Stasch  ran  alongside  of  Nell's  camel,  so 
that  the  children  could  easily  speak  to  each 
other.  The  seat  which  the  Sudanese  had 
padded  proved  to  be  very  comfortable,  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       91 

the  girl  really  looked  like  a  little  bird  in  a  nest ; 
even  if  asleep  she  could  not  fall  out.  This  ride 
fatigued  her  less  than  the  one  during  the  night, 
and  the  bright  daylight  gave  her  and  Stasch 
courage.  The  lad's  heart  was  full  of  hope;  as 
Saba  had  overtaken  them,  might  not  the  res- 
cuers also  be  able  to  do  so?  He  immediately 
mentioned  this  to  Nell,  who  now  smiled  at  him 
for  the  first  time  since  they  had  been  carried 
off. 

"And  when  will  they  overtake  us?"  she  asked 
in  French,  so  that  Idris  would  not  understand. 

"I  don't  know.  Maybe  to-day,  maybe  to- 
morrow, maybe  in  two  or  three  daj^s." 

"But  on  the  return  journey  we  shall  not 
ride  on  camels?" 

"No.  Only  as  far  as  the  Nile,  and  then  on 
the  Nile  to  El-Wasta." 

"Oh,  that's  good,  that's  good!" 

Poor  Nell,  who  used  to  be  so  fond  of  riding 
on  camels,  was  now  evidently  sick  and  tired  out. 

"On  the  Nile — to  El-Wasta  and  to  papa!" 
she  began  to  repeat  in  a  sleepy  voice. 

As  she  had  not  rested  long  at  their  last  stop- 
ping-place, she  now  fell  asleep,  the  heavy  sleep 
that  comes  in  the  morning  after  great  fatigue. 
Meanwhile  the  Bedouins  drove  the  camels 
ceaselessly  on  without  letting  them  stop  for  an 
instant.  Stasch  noticed  that  they  were  going 
toward  the  interior  of  the  desert. 

To  make  Idris  less  confident  that  the  party 
would  be  able  to  elude  the  pursuers,  and  also 


92        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

to  show  him  that  he  felt  certain  of  their  being 
found,  Stasch  said: 

"You  are  leaving  the  Nile  and  the  Bahr 
Yoosuf,  but  that  will  be  useless,  for  they  will 
not  search  for  you  on  the  banks,  where  there  is 
one  string  of  villages,  but  in  the  interior." 

And  Idris  said: 

"How  do  you  know  we  are  leaving  the  Nile? 
The  banks  can  not  possibly  be  seen  from 
here." 

"Because  the  sun,  which  is  now  in  the  east, 
warms  our  backs;  that  means  that  we  have 
turned  off  toward  the  west." 

"You  are  a  clever  boy,"  said  Idris  approv- 
ingly. 

And  after  a  while  he  added: 

"But  the  pursuers  will  not  overtake  us — 
neither  will  you  escape  from  us." 

"No,"  he  answered.  "I  shall  not  run  away, 
unless  it  is  with  her."  And  he  pointed  to  the 
sleeping  Nell. 

They  raced  along  until  noon,  scarcely  mak- 
ing a  halt.  When  the  sun  stood  high  in  the 
heavens  and  it  began  to  be  very  warm,  the 
camels,  although  it  is  not  their  nature  to  per- 
spire profusely,  were  dripping  with  perspira- 
tion, and  went  along  much  more  slowly.  Once 
more  the  caravan  was  surrounded  by  rocks  and 
sand  heaps.  Ravines,  which  served  as  beds  of 
rivers  called  "Khori"  during  the  rainy  season, 
were  seen  oftener  than  before.  At  last  the 
Bedouins  made  a  halt  in  one  quite  hidden  be- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       93 

tween  the  rocks.  But  scarcely  had  they 
ahghted  from  the  camels  than  they  began  to 
yell  and  run  forward,  bending  down  and 
throwing  stones.  Stasch,  who  had  not  yet  dis- 
mounted, saw  a  strange  sight.  From  between 
the  dried  shrubs  that  grow  plentifully  at  the 
bottom  of  the  "Khors"  appeared  a  large  snake, 
which  wound  its  way  through  the  clefts  of  the 
rocks  as  quick  as  lightning  and  glided  off  to  a 
hiding-place  of  its  own.  The  angry  Bedouins 
followed  it,  and  Gebhr  hurried  to  their  assist- 
ance with  a  knife.  But  the  unevenness  of  the 
ground  made  it  as  difficult  to  strike  the  snake 
with  a  stone  as  to  stab  it  with  the  knife,  and  in 
a  little  while  all  three  returned  with  terror  on 
their  faces,  and  the  usual  cries  of  the  Arabs 
were  heard. 

"Allah!" 

"Bismillahl" 

"Maschallahl" 

Then  the  two  Sudanese  looked  at  Stasch  with 
a  penetrating  and  questioning  glance.  But  he 
had  not  the  least  idea  why  they  did  so. 

Meanwhile  Nell  had  dismounted,  and  though 
she  was  not  so  tired  as  the  night  before,  Stasch 
spread  a  cloth  rug  over  a  shady,  level  spot  and 
told  her  to  lie  down,  so  that,  as  he  said,  she 
could  stretch  out  her  feet.  The  Arabs  walked 
about  eating  their  mid-day  meal,  which  con- 
sisted only  of  zwiebach,  dates,  and  a  drop  of 
water.  The  camels  were  not  given  a  drink,  as 
they  had  been  watered  during  the  night.    The 


94       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

faces  of  Idris,  Gebhr,  and  the  Bedouins  bore 
an  anxious  look,  and  the  time  of  rest  passed  in 
silence.  At  last  Idris  took  Stasch  to  one  side 
and  began  to  question  him  in  a  mysterious  and 
troubled  manner: 

"Did  you  see  that  snake?" 

"Yes." 

"Was  it  you  who  bid  it  appear  before  us?" 

"No." 

"Some  misfortune  will  surely  come  upon  us, 
for  these  clumsy  fellows  were  not  able  to  kill 
the  snake." 

"The  gallows  await  you." 

"Silence!  Perhaps  your  father  is  a  sor- 
cerer?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Stasch  without  hesitation, 
immediately  realizing  that  these  savage  and 
superstitious  beings  regard  the  appearance  of 
a  snake  as  a  bad  omen — an  augury  that  the 
flight  would  not  be  successful. 

"So  j^our  father  sent  it  to  us,"  continued 
Idris.  "He  ought  to  realize  that  we  might  take 
revenge  on  you  for  his  witchcraft." 

"You  will  do  nothing  to  me,  for  Fatima's 
sons  would  pay  you  back  for  every  wrong  done 
to  us." 

"Did  you  understand?  Remember  that  if  it 
had  not  been  for  me,  not  only  you,  but  the  little 
girl,  too,  would  have  bled  to  death  under 
Gebhr's  scourge." 

"I  shall  intercede  only  for  you.  Gebhr  will 
be  hanged." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       95 

Thereupon  Idris  looked  at  him  for  a  while 
in  surprise  and  said: 

"Our  lives  are  not  in  your  hands  yet;  you 
talk  to  us  as  if  you  were  our  master." 

After  a  pause  he  added : 

"You  are  a  peculiar  boj^;  I  have  never  seen 
any  one  like  you  before.  I  have  always  thought 
well  of  you  until  now — but  take  care,  do  not 
make  any  threats." 

"God  punishes  traitors!"  answered  Stasch. 

It  was  quite  evident  that  the  tone  of  au- 
thority with  which  the  boy  spoke,  together 
with  the  bad  omen  in  the  form  of  the  serpent 
which  had  escaped,  made  Idris  feel  exceedingly 
uneasy.  Even  later,  when  mounting  his  camel, 
he  frequently  repeated:  "Yes,  I  have  more 
than  once  been  kind  to  you!"  as  if  he  wished 
at  all  events  to  impress  this  on  Stasch's  mind ; 
then  he  began  to  finger  the  nut-shell  beads  of 
his  rosary  and  to  pray. 

Toward  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  heat 
— although  it  was  winter — became  unbearable. 
Not  a  cloud  could  be  seen  in  the  sky,  but  the 
edges  of  the  horizon  had  become  gray.  Over  the 
caravan  soared  several  hawks,  which  from  their 
great  height  cast  black  shadows  on  the  j^ellow 
sand.  In  the  heated  air  there  was  a  smell  as 
of  something  burning.  Although  the  camels 
did  not  change  their  pace,  they  began  to 
sniff.  One  of  the  Bedouins  now  approached 
Idris. 

"There  is  something  bad  coming,"  he  said. 


96        THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"What  do  you  think  it  can  be?"  asked  the 
Sudanese. 

"Evil  spirits  have  awakened  the  wind,  which 
sleeps  in  the  western  part  of  the  desert,  and  it 
has  risen  out  of  the  sand,  and  is  now  rushing 
toward  us." 

Idris  rose  in  his  saddle,  looked  out  into  the 
distance,  and  replied: 

"That's  right.  It  is  coming  from  the  west 
and  south,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  be  as  furi- 
ous as  the  Khamsin."^ 

"But  only  three  years  ago  it  buried  a  whole 
caravan  in  the  vicinity  of  Abu  Hammed,  and 
did  not  uncover  it  until  last  winter.  Ulla!  It 
may  blow  with  such  force  as  to  stop  up  the 
camels'  nostrils,  and  dry  up  the  water  in  the 
leather  bags." 

"We  must  hasten  on,  and  steer  our  course  so 
that  we  will  strike  only  the  edge  of  it." 

"We  are  running  straight  into  it,  and  can 
not  possibly  avoid  it." 

"The  sooner  it  comes,  the  sooner  it  will  be 
over." 

At  the  same  time  Idris  whipped  up  his  camel 
with  the  scourge,  and  the  others  followed  his 
example.  For  a  while  nothing  was  heard  but 
the  cries  of  "Yalla!  Yalla!"  and  the  hollow 
sound  of  the  thick  whips,  that  resembled  the 
loud  clapping  of  hands.  The  western  horizon, 
which  had  been  almost  white,  had  now  become 
dark.    The  heat  continued,  and  the  sun  blazed 

'This  is  a  southwest  wind  that  blows  only  in  the  spring-time. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       97 

down  on  the  heads  of  the  riders.  The  hawks 
must  have  soared  very  high,  for  their  shadows 
became  smaller  and  smaller,  and  at  last  entirely 
disappeared. 

It  now  became  oppressively  sultry.  The 
Arabs  cried  out  to  the  camels  until  their  throats 
were  dry ;  then  they  became  quiet,  and  a  death- 
like silence  ensued,  broken  only  by  the  groan- 
ing of  the  animals  and  the  rustle  of  two  small 
sand-foxes^  with  enormous  ears,  which  sped 
past  the  caravan,  fleeing  to  the  opposite  side 
of  the  desert. 

The  same  Bedouin  who  had  previously 
spoken  to  Idris  said  once  more  in  a  peculiarly 
strange  tone  of  voice : 

"The  wind  will  soon  break  loose  and  bury 
everything." 

"All  the  more  need  of  helping  the  little  girl." 

Idris  whipped  up  the  camel,  and  for  a  while 
they  continued  in  silence. 

"Why  don't  you  speak?"  asked  Stasch. 

"Because  I  am  wondering  whether  I  had 
better  tie  you  to  the  saddle  or  bind  your  hands 
behind  your  back." 

"Have  you  gone  crazy?" 

"No.    But  I  can  guess  what  you  want  to  do." 

"The  searchers  will  overtake  us  in  any  case, 
so  I  need  not  do  anything." 

"The  desert  is  in  God's  hands." 

They  again  relapsed  into  silence.  The 
coarse  sand  had  ceased  falling,  but  a  fine  red 

'Ad  animal  called  "feuschak,"  smaller  than  a  fox. 


98       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

dust,  somewhat  resembling  mildew,  remained 
in  the  air,  through  which  the  sun  shone  like 
a  sheet  of  copper.  Distant  objects  could  now 
be  plainly  seen.  Before  the  caravan  extended 
a  plain,  on  the  edge  of  which  the  Arab's  sharp 
eyes  again  perceived  a  cloud.  It  was  higher 
than  the  previous  ones  and  rose  in  columns  that 
formed  enormous  funnels  with  wide-spreading 
tops.  At  this  sight  the  hearts  of  the  Arabs 
and  Bedouins  quaked  with  fear,  for  they  recog- 
nized the  sand-spout.  Idris  raised  his  hands, 
and  lifting  them  to  his  ears,  began  to  bow  to 
the  advancing  whirlwind.  His  belief  in  his  own 
God  apparently  did  not  prevent  him  fearing 
others,  for  Stasch  distinctly  heard  him  say: 

"Lord!  We  are  your  children,  therefore  do 
not  devour  us!"  And  the  "Lord"  rushed  upon 
them,  and  hit  the  camels  with  such  force  that 
they  almost  fell  to  the  ground.  The  animals 
huddled  together  in  a  compact  mass,  with  their 
heads  turned  toward  the  center.  Enormous 
quantities  of  sand  began  to  fly.  The  caravan 
was  enveloped  in  darkness  that  momentarily 
grew  more  intense,  in  which  they  saw  black  and 
indistinct  objects — like  enormous  birds  or 
camels — sweep  rapidly  past  them,  as  if  fright- 
ened by  the  hurricane.  The  Arabs  were 
greatly  alarmed,  for  they  thought  they  saw  the 
souls  of  the  men  and  animals  that  had  perished 
in  the  sand.  In  the  midst  of  the  tumult  and 
howling  of  the  hurricane  they  heard  strange 
voices,  sometimes  weeping,  sometimes  laugh- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT       99 

ing,  sometimes  cries  for  help.  These  sounds 
were  only  delusions.  Danger  a  hundred  times 
more  terrible  threatened  the  caravan.  The 
Sudanese  well  knew  that  if  one  of  the  great 
sand-spouts,  which  continually  form  in  the 
center  of  the  hurricane,  should  drag  them  into 
its  vortex,  it  would  knock  down  the  riders  and 
disperse  the  camels,  and,  bursting  upon  them, 
would  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eyelash  bury  them 
under  mountains  of  sand,  there  to  remain  until 
some  similar  storm  should  uncover  their  bones 
and  scatter  them  over  the  desert. 

Stasch  nearly  lost  his  breath;  the  sand 
blinded  him,  and  he  became  dazed  and  dizzy. 
Sometimes  it  seemed  as  though  he  heard  Nell 
crying  and  calling,  and  so  he  thought  of  her 
alone.  Knowing  that  the  camels  were  stand- 
ing closely  together,  and  that  Idris  could  not 
be  paying  any  attention  to  him,  he  determined 
to  steal  over  to  the  girl's  camel,  not  that  he 
wished  to  escape,  but  only  to  help  and  encour- 
age her.  He  had  scarcely  put  out  his  hands  to 
catch  Nell's  saddle  than  Idris'  large  arm  held 
him  back.  The  Sudanese  picked  him  up  like 
a  feather,  laid  him  down,  and  tried  to  bind  him 
with  a  palm  rope,  and  after  he  had  tied  his 
hands,  placed  him  across  the  saddle.  Stasch 
clenched  his  teeth  and  resisted  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, but  all  in  vain.  As  his  throat  was 
parched  and  his  mouth  full  of  sand,  he  could 
not  convince  Idris  that  he  only  wanted  to  assist 
the  girl,  and  had  no  intention  of  trying  to 


100       THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

escape.  But  a  little  later,  feeling  that  he  was 
all  but  suffocated,  he  cried  out  in  a  strained 
voice : 

"Save  the  little  Biut!  Save  the  little 
Biut!"' 

The  Arabs  preferred  to  think  of  saving  their 
own  lives.  So  terrible  was  the  sand-storm  that 
the  Bedouins  could  neither  sit  on  the  camels, 
nor  could  the  camels  remain  standing.  Chamis 
and  Gebhr  sprang  to  earth  to  hold  the  curb- 
bits,  which  were  fastened  under  the  lower  jaws 
of  the  animals.  Idris  pushed  Stasch  off  the 
back  of  the  saddle  and  endeavored  to  control 
his  camel.  The  animals  stood  with  their  legs 
far  apart  so  as  to  resist  the  raging  storm,  but 
strength  failed  them,  and  the  caravan  was 
blown  about  in  the  sand,  which  pricked  like 
pins,  and  torn  to  pieces  as  though  with  lashes 
from  sand-thongs.  Slowly  at  first,  then  faster, 
they  began  to  twist  and  stagger  as  the  hurri- 
cane advanced.  From  time  to  time  the  sand 
whirls  dug  grave-like  hollows  beneath  their 
feet,  or  the  sand  and  gravel,  rebounding  from 
the  flanks  of  the  animals,  instantly  formed  hil- 
locks, which  reached  up  higher  than  their 
knees.  In  this  manner  hour  after  hour  passed, 
the  situation  becoming  more  and  more  alarm- 
ing. Idris  at  last  realized  that  the  only  means 
of  deliverance  lay  in  remounting  the  camels 
and  racing  with  the  storm.  But  that  meant  re- 
turning in  the  direction  of  Fayoum,  where 

'The  Little  Girl. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     101 

Egyptian  courts  and  the  gallows  awaited 
them. 

"Ha!  There  is  nothing  else  to  be  done," 
thought  Idris.  "The  hurricane  has  delayed 
our  pursuers  also,  and  as  soon  as  it 
ceases  we  will  gallop  once  more  toward  the 
south." 

So  he  cried  out  for  them  to  remount.  But 
just  then  something  happened  that  completely 
changed  the  situation.  The  dark  sand-clouds, 
now  almost  jet  black,  were  suddenly  permeated 
with  bluish  light.  Then  the  darkness  grew  still 
more  intense,  and  now  arose  in  the  higher  re- 
gions of  the  air  the  slumbering  thunder. 
Awakened  by  the  whirlwind,  it  began  to  roll 
loudly,  threateningly,  and  angrily  between  the 
Arabian  and  Libyan  deserts.  It  seemed  as  if 
mountains  were  falling  from  the  sky.  The 
deafening  noise  increased;  it  made  the  earth 
tremble,  and  began  to  encircle  the  entire  hori- 
zon.^ From  time  to  time  the  sound  crashed 
with  such  terrible  force  that  it  seemed  as  though 
the  firmament  was  broken  and  falling  to  earth. 
Sometimes  it  was  like  a  hollow,  distant  rum- 
bling; then  again  it  broke  forth  still  louder, 
flashed  its  blinding  lightning,  threw  thunder- 
bolts, rose  and  fell  and  crashed  again.  This 
continued  a  long  while. 

At  last  the  wind  ceased,  as  if  terrified,  and 
after  a  long,  momentous  pause  the  doors  of 

'The  author  heard  a  peal  of  thunder  near  Aden,  which  contin- 
ued incessantly  for  nearly  half  an  hour. 


102      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

heaven  closed  and  a  stillness  as  of  death  en- 
sued. 

A  little  later  the  voice  of  the  leader  rang 
through  the  silence : 

"God  is  over  the  storm  and  hurricane!  We 
are  saved!" 

They  started  off  again;  but  the  darkness  was 
so  impenetrable  that  although  the  camels  ran 
side  by  side,  their  riders  could  not  see  each 
other,  being  obliged  to  call  out  every  minute 
so  as  not  to  become  separated.  From  time  to 
time  the  lightning  pierced  the  sand-filled  air 
with  vivid  blue  and  red  flashes,  and  then  the 
darkness  became  so  intense  that  it  might 
almost  be  felt.  Despite  the  confidence  that  the 
leader  inspired  in  the  Sudanese,  they  still  felt 
uneasy,  for  they  ran  on  blindly,  not  knomng 
where  they  were  going,  whether  turning  round 
in  a  circle  or  going  toward  the  north  or  south. 
The  animals  stumbled  every  minute  and  made 
but  little  speed,  panting  so  peculiarly  and 
breathing  so  hard  that  it  seemed  to  their  riders 
as  if  the  whole  desert  was  gasping  from  fright. 
At  last  came  the  first  large  raindrops  that  gen- 
erally follow  a  hurricane,  and  the  leader 
shouted  through  the  darkness: 

"Khor!" 

They  had  reached  a  ravine.  At  first  the 
camels  stood  motionless  at  the  edge,  then  be- 
gan to  descend  very  carefully. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     103 

CHAPTER   IX 

THE  ravine  was  broad  and  covered  with 
stones,  between  which  grew  stunted  thorn- 
bushes.  Broken  rocks  formed  its  southern 
side.  The  Arabs  observed  these  details  in  the 
lightning  flashes,  which  were  now  less  vivid  but 
more  frequent.  They  soon  discovered  a  flat 
cave,  or,  speaking  more  exactly,  a  spacious 
niche,  in  the  side  of  the  rock,  in  which  they  could 
easily  take  refuge.  The  camels  could  also  find 
a  sheltered  place  on  a  slight  elevation  near  by. 
The  Bedouins  and  the  Sudanese  relieved  the 
animals  of  their  burdens  and  saddles,  and 
Chamis,  the  son  of  Chadigi,  went  about  collect- 
ing thorn  branches  for  the  fire.  Large  rain- 
drops fell  intermittently,  but  the  shower  did 
not  really  begin  until  every  one  had  lain  down 
to  sleep.  At  first  the  rain  resembled  threads, 
then  ropes,  and  at  last  it  seemed  as  if  overflow- 
ing streams  from  invisible  clouds  were  delug- 
ing the  earth.  But  such  showers,  which  occur 
only  once  in  many  years,  even  in  winter  cause 
the  canals  and  the  Nile  to  overflow,  and  in 
Aden  they  -fill  the  enormous  cisterns  which  are 
the  mainstay  of  the  town.  Stasch  had  never 
seen  anything  like  this  before.  A  rushing 
stream  filled  the  bed  of  the  "Khors"  and  cur- 
tains of  water  covered  the  entrance  of  the  cave. 
Nothing  could  be  heard  except  the  rushing  of 
the  water  and  the  pattering  of  the  rain.  The 
camels  stood  on  the  height,  and  so  the  storm 


104.      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

at  the  most  could  but  give  them  a  bath;  but 
the  Arabs  looked  out  every  minute  to  see  that 
the  animals  were  not  in  any  danger.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  party  found  it  very  pleasant 
in  the  protecting  niche  to  sit  around  the  bright 
fire  of  brushwood,  which  was  not  wet  by  the 
rain.  Joy  was  written  on  all  their  faces.  Idris, 
who  had  unbound  Stasch's  hands  on  their 
arrival,  so  that  he  could  eat,  now  turned  to  him 
and  said  with  a  scornful  smile : 

"The  Mahdi  is  greater  than  all  the  white 
sorcerers.  He  stopped  the  sand-storm  and 
sent  the  rain." 

Stasch  did  not  answer,  for  he  was  busy  look- 
ing after  Nell,  who  scarcely  seemed  to  breathe. 
At  first  he  took  the  sand  out  of  her  hair,  and 
ordered  old  Dinah  to  unpack  the  things  they 
had  taken  with  them  to  go  to  their  fathers ;  then 
he  took  a  towel,  moistened  it  with  water,  and 
carefully  washed  the  child's  face.  Dinah  could 
not  do  this,  for  she  had  gone  nearly  stone  blind 
during  the  hurricane,  and  the  washing  of  her 
heated  eyelids  at  first  brought  no  relief.  Nell 
seemed  indifferent  to  all  Stasch's  efforts,  and 
only  looked  at  him  like  a  tired  little  bird,  but 
when  he  drew  off  her  shoes  to  shake  out  the 
sand,  and  then  spread  out  the  cloth  rug  for  her 
to  lie  upon,  she  put  her  little  arms  around  his 
neck. 

In  his  heart  he  felt  more  and  more  sympathy 
for  her;  he  now  felt  that  he  was  her  guardian, 
elder  brother,  and  sole  protector.    He  was  also 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      105 

aware  that  he  was  very  fond  of  this  little  sister, 
a  great  deal  more  fond  of  her  than  he  ever  had 
been.  He  had  liked  her  when  at  Port  Said, 
but  he  looked  upon  her  as  a  "little  baby,"  and 
so,  for  instance,  it  never  occurred  to  him  then 
to  kiss  her  hand  when  saying  good-night.  If 
any  one  had  ever  mentioned  such  a  thing  to  him 
he  would  have  thought  that  a  thirteen-year-old 
gentleman  could  not  do  such  a  thing  without 
affecting  his  dignity  and  his  years.  But  now 
the  general  misfortune  had  awakened  his  slum- 
bering affection  for  her,  and  he  not  only  kissed 
one,  but  both  of  the  girl's  hands. 

He  lay  down,  still  thinking  of  her.  He  de- 
cided to  do  something  extraordinary  to  deliver 
her  from  captivity.  He  was  prepared  for 
everything — for  wounds  or  for  death — but 
with  a  slight  reservation  in  his  heart  that  the 
wounds  would  not  hurt  too  much  and  that  the 
death  might  not  be  a  real  one ;  for  in  the  latter 
case  he  would  not  be  able  to  see  Nell's  joy  over 
her  freedom.  Then  he  began  to  think  over  the 
most  heroic  means  of  delivering  her,  but  his 
thoughts  became  confused.  For  a  while  it 
seemed  to  him  as  if  whole  sand-clouds  were 
burying  them  and  then  as  if  all  the  camels  were 
trying  to  creep  into  his  head — and  then  he  fell 
fast  asleep. 

After  the  Arabs  had  attended  to  the  camels, 
they  sank  down,  dead  tired  from  the  fight  with 
the  whirlwind,  and  slept  like  logs.  The  fires 
went  out,  and  it  was  pitch  dark  in  the  cave. 


106     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Soon  the  sleepers  began  to  snore,  and  outside 
was  heard  the  pattering  of  the  rain  and  the 
rushing  of  the  water  as  it  broke  against  the 
stones  on  the  bed  of  the  ravine.  And  so  the 
night  passed. 

Before  morning  Stasch  was  so  cold  that  he 
awakened  from  his  sound  sleep.  It  seems  that 
the  water,  which  had  collected  above  them  in 
the  crevices  of  the  rock,  began  to  trickle  drop 
by  drop  through  a  crack  in  the  hollow  of  the 
cave.  The  boy  sat  up  on  the  cloth  rug,  so 
sleepy  at  first  that  he  could  not  tell  where  he 
was  and  what  was  happening  to  him.  But  he 
was  soon  wide  awake. 

"Ah!"  he  thought.  "Yesterday  there  was  a 
hurricane  and  we  were  carried  off  by  it,  and 
this  is  the  cave  where  we  took  refuge  from  the 
rain." 

He  began  to  look  around.  At  first  he  was 
surprised  to  see  that  the  rain  had  ceased,  and 
that  it  was  no  longer  dark  in  the  cave,  for  the 
moon,  which  was  now  low  down  near  the  hori- 
zon, about  to  set,  illumined  it.  The  entire  in- 
terior of  the  broad  but  shallow  niche  could  be 
plainly  seen.  Stasch  distinctly  noted  the  Arabs 
lying  together,  and  close  to  the  largest  wall  of 
the  cave  he  saw  the  white  dress  of  Nell,  who 
was  sleeping  next  to  Dinah. 

He  felt  exceedingly  anxious  about  her. 

"Sleep,  Nell,  sleep!"  he  said  to  himself. 
"But  I  can  not  sleep — I  must,  I  must  save 
her!" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     107 

Then,  looking  at  the  Arabs,  he  added:  "Ah, 
I  would  like  to " 

Suddenly  he  trembled,  for  his  eye  lighted 
upon  the  leather  case  containing  the  gun  he  had 
received  at  Christmas,  and  alongside  of  it  the 
cartridges  lay,  so  near — between  him  and 
Chamis — that  he  had  but  to  stretch  forth  his 
hand  to  reach  them. 

His  heart  began  to  beat  and  to  thump  like 
a  hammer.  If  he  could  but  catch  hold  of  the 
gun  and  the  cartridges  he  would  doubtless  have 
command  of  the  situation.  In  this  case  he 
would  only  have  to  creep  quietly  out  of  the 
niche,  secrete  himself  a  short  distance  away,  be- 
tween the  rocks,  and  guard  the  entrance  from 
that  position.  "When  the  Sudanese  and  the 
Bedouins  awake,"  thought  he,  "they  will  notice 
that  I  have  escaped,  and  all  will  rush  out  of 
the  cave  at  once;  then  with  two  bullets  I  can 
shoot  down  the  first  two,  and  before  the  others 
reach  me  the  gun  will  be  reloaded.  Chamis 
will  be  the  only  one  left,  but  I  will  make  short 
work  of  him." 

Then  he  imagined  the  four  dead  bodies 
bathed  in  blood,  and  his  heart  was  filled  with 
horror  and  fright.  To  murder  four  people !  It 
is  true  they  are  villains,  but  just  the  same,  it  is 
terrible!  He  remembered  that  in  Port  Said  he 
had  seen  a  fellah,  a  workman,  who  had  been 
killed  by  the  handle  of  a  shaft-sinking  machine, 
and  what  a  terrible  impression  the  quivering 
remains  amid  a  pool  of  blood  had  made  upon 


108     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

him.  The  very  thought  of  it  caused  him  to 
shudder.  And  now  he  was  about  to  kill  four! 
Sin,  horror!    No!  no!    He  could  not  do  it! 

He  began  to  struggle  with  his  thoughts. 
For  himself  he  would  not  think  of  doing  it — 
certainly  not!  But  now  it  was  a  case  of  Nell, 
of  her  defense,  her  safety,  and  her  life,  for  she 
certainly  could  not  stand  all  these  hardships 
and  would  surely  die,  either  during  the  jour- 
ney or  in  the  midst  of  the  wild,  beastly  tribes 
of  Dervishes.  What  was  the  blood  of  such 
wretches  in  comparison  with  Nell's  life,  and 
was  it  right  to  hesitate  in  such  a  case?  For 
Nell!    For  Nell! 

Then  a  thought  flew  like  a  flash  of  lightning 
through  his  head  and  made  his  hair  stand  on 
end.  What  would  happen  if  one  of  these  vil- 
lains should  point  a  knife  at  Nell's  breast  and 
threaten  to  kill  her  if  he,  Stasch,  would  not 
surrender  and  give  up  the  gun?  What  would 
happen  then? 

"In  that  case,"  said  the  boy  to  himself,  "I 
should  give  myself  up  at  once." 

And  at  the  thought  of  his  helplessness  he 
again  threw  himself  down  despairingly  on  the 
cloth  rug. 

The  rays  of  moonlight  now  entered  the  open- 
ing of  the  cave  at  such  an  angle  that  it  became 
dark  inside.  The  Arabs  still  snored.  Stasch 
lay  quiet  for  a  while,  then  a  new  thought 
dawned  upon  him. 

Suppose  he  should  creep  out  of  the  cave  with 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     109 

the  gun,  hide  himself  between  the  rocks,  and 
not  kill  the  men,  but  only  shoot  down  the 
camels  ?  It  is  true  it  would  be  a  shame  to  sac- 
rifice the  innocent  animals,  but  what  was  to  be 
done?  People  kill  animals  not  only  to  save 
lives,  but  also  for  their  meat.  Now  one  thing 
was  certain,  that  if  he  were  to  succeed  in  shoot- 
ing down  four  or  five  camels,  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  continue  the  journey.  Not  one  of 
the  caravan  would  dare  visit  the  villages  on  the 
river-banks  to  buy  new  camels.  So  Stasch 
would  promise,  in  the  names  of  their  fathers, 
that  the  men  should  not  be  punished,  but  be  re- 
warded, and  the  only  thing  left  for  them  to 
do  would  be  to  return. 

That  was  all  very  well,  but  supposing  they 
did  not  give  him  time  to  make  these  promises, 
but  murdered  him  in  the  first  onset  of  their 
wrath  ? 

However,  they  would  have  to  give  him  time 
and  listen  to  him,  for  with  a  gun  in  his  hand 
he  would  be  able  to  keep  them  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance until  he  had  said  all  he  wanted  to.  They 
would  realize  that  the  onty  way  to  save  them- 
selves would  be  to  surrender.  Then  he  would 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  caravan  and  lead 
it  straight  to  the  Bahr  Yoosuf  and  to  the  Nile. 
They  were  still  quite  a  distance  from  there — 
some  one  or  two  days'  journey — for  the  Arabs 
had  taken  the  precaution  to  travel  quite  far 
into  the  interior.  But  that  was  no  matter; 
there  would  be  several  camels  left,  and  on  one 


110     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

of  these  Nell  could  ride.  Stasch  began  to  ex- 
amine the  Arabs  carefully.  They  were  all 
sleeping  the  sound  sleep  of  utter  exhaustion; 
but  as  the  night  would  soon  be  over,  they  might 
awaken  at  any  moment.  Immediate  action  was 
necessary.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  take  the 
cartridge  case,  for  it  lay  by  his  side;  but  it 
would  not  be  so  easy  to  get  the  gun,  which 
Chamis  had  placed  farther  away,  on  the  other 
side.  Stasch  hoped  that  he  would  be  able  to 
take  it  away,  but  he  decided  not  to  remove  it 
from  its  case  or  adjust  the  gun  barrel  until  he 
should  get  some  distance  from  the  cave,  for  he 
feared  the  click  of  the  steel  might  awaken  the 
sleepers. 

The  moment  had  come.  The  boy  crept  over 
Chamis  like  a  worm,  and  grasping  the  box  by 
the  handle,  picked  it  up  and  slowly  drew  it  over 
to  his  side.  Though  he  clenched  his  teeth  and 
tried  to  overcome  his  emotions,  his  heart  and 
pulse  beat  quickly,  everything  grew  dark  be- 
fore his  eyes,  and  his  breath  came  and  went 
in  rapid  gasps,  and  when  the  straps  which 
closed  the  box  creaked  a  little,  cold  drops  of 
sweat  stood  in  beads  on  his  forehead.  This 
single  second  seemed  to  him  as  long  as  a  cen- 
tury. But  Chamis  never  moved.  The  box  was 
lifted  over  him  and  placed  beside  the  cartridge 
case. 

Stasch  breathed  again.  Half  the  work  was 
done.  Now  it  was  necessary  to  creep  quietly 
out  of  the  cave,  run  a  short  distance,  hide  him- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     111 

self  in  the  rocks,  open  the  case,  adjust  the  gun, 
load  it,  and  put  a  number  of  cartridges  in  his 
pocket.  Then  the  caravan  would  be  at  his 
mercy. 

Stasch's  black  silhouette  stood  out  against 
the  light  background  of  the  entrance  to  the 
cave.  Another  second  and  he  would  be  out- 
side. Another  minute  and  he  would  hide  him- 
self in  the  rocks.  And  then,  even  if  one  of  the 
robbers  should  awaken,  before  he  realized  what 
had  happened,  and  before  he  could  awaken  the 
others,  it  would  be  too  late.  Fearing  that  he 
might  knock  down  one  of  the  many  stones 
which  lay  at  the  entrance  of  the  niche,  the  boy 
took  one  step  forward  and  groped  with  the  sole 
of  his  foot  for  firm  ground. 

He  thrust  his  head  out  of  the  opening,  and 
was  just  about  to  step  out,  when  something 
unexpectedly  happened  which  made  the  blood 
freeze  in  his  veins.  For  through  the  dead 
silence  Saba's  joyful  bark  rang  forth  like  thun- 
der, filled  the  whole  ravine,  and  awakened  its 
sleeping  echoes.  The  Arabs  sprang  up  as  one 
man  out  of  their  sleep,  and  the  first  thing  that 
met  their  eyes  was  Stasch  with  the  case  in  one 
hand  and  the  cartridges  in  the  other. 
,  Ah,  Saba,  what  have  you  done! 


112     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER  X 

THEY  at  once  set  up  a  howl  and  fell  on 
Stasch,  tearing  the  gun  and  cartridges 
from  his  grasp ;  they  threw  him  on  the  ground, 
bound  his  hands  and  feet  with  ropes,  beat  him, 
and  stamped  on  him  with  their  feet  until  Idris, 
fearing  the  boy  would  be  killed,  drove  them 
away.  Then  they  began  to  speak  in  broken 
sentences,  as  people  do  who  have  had  some 
great  danger  hovering  over  them,  from  which 
they  have  only  escaped  by  chance. 

"That  boy  is  Satan  personified!"  cried  Idris, 
his  face  pale  with  fright  and  excitement. 

"He  would  have  shot  us  down  as  he  would 
wild  geese  for  dinner!"  added  Gebhr. 

"Yes,  if  it  hadn't  been  for  this  dog!" 

"God  sent  him!" 

"And  you  wanted  to  kill  him!"  said  Chamis. 

"From  now  on  no  one  shall  touch  him!" 

"He  shall  always  have  bones  and  water!" 

"Allah!  Allah!"  repeated  Idris,  without 
being  able  to  calm  down;  "and  death  hung  over 
us!    Uf!" 

They  looked  with  hatred  at  Stasch,  who  lay 
before  them,  but  they  were  also  somewhat  sur- 
prised that  this  small  boy  had  so  nearly  caused 
their  defeat  and  destruction. 

"By  the  prophet!"  said  one  of  the  Bedouins, 
"but  we  must  take  care  that  this  son  of  Eblis 
does  not  break  our  necks.  We  owe  the  Mahdi 
a  snake !    What  do  you  intend  to  do  with  liim?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     113 

"His  right  hand  must  be  cut  off!"  cried 
Gebhr.  The  Bedouins  made  no  reply,  but 
Idris  would  not  allow  them  to  do  it.  It  oc- 
curred to  him  that  if  the  expedition  sent  out  in 
search  of  them  should  find  them,  they  would 
be  punished  much  more  severely  if  they  maimed 
the  boy.  And  after  all,  who  could  tell  whether 
the  boy  would  not  die  as  the  result  of  the  beat- 
ing he  had  just  received?  If  so,  only  Nell 
would  remain  to  be  exchanged  for  Fatima  and 
her  children. 

When  Gebhr  drew  a  knife  to  execute  his 
threat  Idris  grasped  him  by  the  wrist  and  held 
him  back. 

"No!"  he  said.  "It  would  be  a  disgrace  if 
five  of  the  Mahdi's  warriors  were  to  fear  one 
beggarly  son  of  a  Christian  so  much  that  they 
had  to  cut  off  his  hand.  Meanwhile  we  will 
bind  him  at  night,  and  for  what  he  has  just 
attempted  he  will  receive  ten  lashes  with  the 
scourge." 

Gebhr  was  ready  to  carry  out  the  threat  at 
once.  But  Idris  again  pushed  him  back  and 
told  one  of  the  Bedouins  to  administer  the 
blows,  whispering  into  his  ear  not  to  beat  him 
too  hard.  As  Chamis,  because  he  had  for- 
merly served  the  engineers,  or  perhaps  for 
some  other  reason,  did  not  want  to  interfere 
in  any  way,  the  second  Bedouin  laid  Stasch 
face  downward,  and  the  torture  was  just 
about  to  begin  when  something  unexpected  de- 
layed it. 


114     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

At  the  entrance  of  the  niche  Nell  appeared 
with  Saba.  Although  busy  with  her  pet,  which 
had  rushed  into  the  cave  and  thrown  himself 
at  her  feet,  she  had  heard  the  screams  of  the 
Arabs,  but  as  Arabs  and  Bedouins  in  Egypt 
scream  on  every  occasion  as  if  they  were  mur- 
dering one  another,  she  paid  no  attention  to 
this.  It  was  only  after  she  had  called  Stasch 
and  received  no  answer  that  she  went  out  to 
see  if  he  had,  perhaps,  mounted  his  camel,  and 
she  was  terrified  when  by  the  first  rays  of  dawn 
she  saw  Stasch  lying  on  the  ground,  and  above 
him  a  Bedouin  standing  with  the  scourge  in 
his  hand.  At  this  sight  she  began  to  cry  out 
with  all  the  power  of  her  childish  lungs  and  to 
Stamp  her  feet ;  but  when  the  Bedouin  paid  no 
attention  to  her  and  gave  Stasch  the  first  blow, 
she  rushed  forward  and  covered  the  boy  with 
her  small  body. 

The  Bedouin  hesitated,  for  he  had  not  been 
told  to  beat  the  girl,  and  meanwhile  she  cried 
out  in  tones  of  terror  and  despair: 

"Saba!    Saba!" 

Saba  understood,  and  with  one  leap  he 
reached  the  entrance.  The  hair  on  his  neck  and 
back  bristled,  his  eyes  glared  with  a  red  light, 
while  from  his  chest  and  his  powerful  throat 
came  a  thundering  roar.  Then  his  lips  slowly 
receded,  and  his  teeth,  as  well  as  his  inch-long 
white  fangs,  stood  out,  displaying  his  bloody 
gums.  The  enormous  dog  now  began  to  turn 
liis  head  from  right  to  left,  as  if  he  wanted  to 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     115 

give  the  Sudanese  a  good  view  of  his  terrible 
set  of  teeth  and  say  to  them: 

"Look!  With  these  I  shall  defend  the 
children!" 

They  desisted  at  once,  because  they  knew 
that  they  owed  their  lives  to  Saba  and  also  that 
any  one  who  attempted  to  approach  Nell  at 
that  moment  would  have  the  enraged  animal's 
fangs  fastened  in  his  throat. 

So  they  stood  there  powerless,  looking  help- 
lessly and  inquiringly  at  one  another,  as  if  ask- 
ing what  was  to  be  done  now. 

They  hesitated  so  long  that  Nell  had  time 
to  call  old  Dinah  and  order  her  to  cut  Stasch's 
bonds.  Then  the  bo}^  arose,  and  laying  his 
hand  on  Saba's  head,  turned  to  the  assailants: 

"I  did  not  mean  to  kill  you,"  he  said  with 
clenched  teeth,  "but  only  the  camels." 

This  speech,  which  was  intended  to  pacify 
them,  only  terrified  them  the  more,  and  they 
would  certainly  have  attacked  Stasch  again 
had  not  Saba's  flaming  eyes  and  his  still  brist- 
ling hair  kept  them  back.  Gebhr  still  wanted 
to  rush  at  Stasch,  but  a  deep  growl  pinned  him 
to  the  spot  where  he  stood. 

A  short  silence  ensued — then  Idris'  far- 
resounding  voice  rang  out : 

"Let  us  break  camp!  Let  us  start  on  our 
way!" 


116     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER   XI 

A  DAY,  a  night,  and  another  day  passed,  and 
they  still  continued  galloping  toward  the 
south,  only  resting  for  a  short  time  in  the  ra- 
vines, so  as  not  to  tire  out  the  camels  too  much, 
to  feed  them  and  to  give  them  water,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  attend  to  their  own  wants. 
For  fear  of  being  pursued  they  turned  off  more 
toward  the  west,  as  they  did  not  need  to  worry 
about  a  supply  of  water  for  some  time.  The 
rain  had  only  lasted  seven  hours,  but  it  was 
such  a  heavy  storm  that  Idris,  Gebhr,  and  the 
Bedouins  knew  that  enough  water  could  be 
found  for  several  days  to  come  in  the  bed  of 
the  ravines  and  in  the  natural  hollows  and 
cavities  made  by  the  rocks.  After  a  great 
downpour,  as  is  generally  the  case,  the  weather 
was  fine.  The  heavens  were  cloudless  and  the 
air  so  transparent  that  one  could  see  for  an 
immeasurable  distance.  During  the  night  the 
star-strewn  firmament  shone  with  the  lustre  of 
a  myriad  jewels,  and  a  refreshing  coolness  came 
from  the  desert  sand. 

The  humps  of  the  camels  had  become 
smaller,  but  the  animals  were  well  fed  and  still 
"keck,"  as  the  Arabs  say,  which  means  that 
they  were  not  tired  out.  They  ran  so  fast  that 
the  caravan  advanced  at  almost  as  sharp  a  pace 
as  on  the  day  they  departed  from  Gharak  el- 
Sultani.  Stasch  was  surprised  to  see  that  the 
Bedouins  found  provisions  of  maize  and  dates 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     117 

in  the  many  narrow  passes  among  the  clefts  of 
the  rocks  protected  from  the  rain.  That  led 
him  to  think  that  certain  preparations  had  been 
made  before  they  had  been  kidnapped  and  that 
everything  had  been  planned  beforehand  be- 
tween Fatima,  Idris,  and  Gebhr  on  one  side, 
and  the  Bedouins  on  the  other.  It  was  easy  to 
guess  that  these  men  were  partisans  of  and 
believers  in  the  Mahdi,  who  wished  to  capture 
him,  and  that  they  were  readily  drawn  into  a 
conspiracy  by  the  Sudanese.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Fayoum,  near  Gharak  el-Sultani,  there  were 
many  Bedouins  camping  in  the  desert  with 
their  children  and  camels,  who  went  to  Medinet 
or  to  the  railway  station  trying  to  earn  some- 
thing. But  these  two  Bedouins  Stasch  had 
never  seen  before;  they  could  not  have  come 
from  Medinet,  because  it  seemed  they  did  not 
know  Saba. 

It  also  occurred  to  the  boy  that  perhaps  it 
might  be  well  to  try  to  bribe  them,  but  when 
he  remembered  their  enthusiastic  cries  each  time 
the  Mahdi's  name  was  mentioned  he  knew  that 
this  would  be  impossible.  The  boy  did  not, 
however,  submit  passively  to  all  this,  for  his 
heart  was  full  of  wonderful  energy  that  had 
only  been  stimulated  by  the  misfortunes  he  had 
suffered.  "Everything  I  have  undertaken," 
he  said  to  himself,  "has  ended  in  my  being 
beaten  black  and  blue.  But  even  if  I  were 
beaten  every  day  with  the  scourge,  or  killed,  I 
should  not  cease  trying  to  devise  for  Nell  and 


118     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

myself  a  means  of  escape  from  the  hands  of 
these  villains.  If  the  parties  seaching  for  us 
get  hold  of  them,  all  the  better ;  but  I  shall  act 
as  if  I  did  not  expect  them  to  come  at  all." 

Then  when  he  thought  what  had  happened  to 
him,  how  these  treacherous  and  cruel  men  had 
taken  his  gun  away,  had  beaten  him  with  their 
fists,  and  stamped  upon  him  with  their  feet,  he 
became  furiously  angry.  He  not  only  felt  that 
he  was  conquered,  but,  proud  as  he  was  of  being 
a  white  man,  he  felt  especially  humiliated  by 
being  subject  to  them.  Above  all,  he  felt  the 
wrong  done  to  Nell,  and  this,  together  with  the 
exasperation  that  had  taken  deep  root  in  his 
heart  since  his  last  misfortune,  made  him 
heartily  hate  the  Sudanese  with  an  irreconcil- 
able hatred.  It  is  true,  he  had  often  heard  his 
father  say  that  hatred  blinds  one,  and  that  only 
those  who  are  unable  to  rise  above  it  give  way 
to  it,  but  for  the  present  he  could  not  suppress 
it  or  even  hide  it. 

He  could  not  even  prevent  its  being  noticed 
by  Idris,  who  really  began  to  feel  uneasy,  for 
he  realized  that  in  case  the  pursuers  were  to 
overtake  them  he  could  no  longer  count  on  the 
boy's  interceding  for  him.  Idris  was  always 
ready  to  undertake  the  most  daring  deeds,  but, 
being  a  very  sensible  man,  he  said  to  himself 
that  one  must  anticipate  everything  in  case  of 
defeat;  in  fact,  always  have  a  little  side-door 
open  for  escape.  Therefore  after  the  last  oc- 
currence he  wished  to  get  back  a  little  into 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      119 

Stasch's  good  graces,  and  at  the  next  stopping- 
place  he  began  conversing  with  him. 

"After  what  you  attempted  to  do,"  he  said, 
"I  had  to  punish  you — otherwise  the  others 
would  have  beaten  you  to  death;  but  I  told 
the  Bedouins  not  to  hit  you  too  hard." 

And  on  receiving  no  answer  he  continued: 

"Listen;  j^-ou  yourself  have  said  that  white 
people  always  keep  their  promises,  and  there- 
fore if  you  will  swear  to  me  by  your  God  and 
by  the  head  of  this  little  "Biut"  that  you  will 
not  undertake  to  do  us  any  harm,  I  will  not 
have  you  bound  up  at  night." 

Even  then  Stasch  did  not  answer  a  word,  and 
it  was  only  by  the  strange  glint  in  his  eyes  that 
Idris  realized  he  was  speaking  in  vain. 

But  although  Gebhr  and  the  Bedouins 
coaxed  him,  he  did  not  have  Stasch  bound  at 
night.  When  Gebhr  continued  to  insist,  he 
answered  him  angrily: 

"Instead  of  going  to  sleep,  you  will  keep 
guard  to-night.  I  have  decided  that  hence- 
forth one  of  us  will  keep  guard  while  the  others 
sleep." 

And  so  from  this  day  on  relays  of  guards 
were  arranged.  That  greatly  hindered,  in  fact 
nearly  completely  frustrated,  Stasch's  plans, 
for  each  guard  took  good  care  to  watch  him 
well.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  children  were 
given  more  freedom,  and  were  allowed  to  be 
near  each  other  and  converse  freely.  So  at  the 
next  halting-place  Stasch  sat  down  by  Nell  to 


120     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

thank  her  for  her  assistance.  But  although 
he  was  deeply  grateful,  he  was  incapable 
of  expressing  his  respect  and  affection, 
and  so  he  simply  began  to  shake  her  little 
hands. 

*'Nell,"  he  said,  "you  are  very  good,  and  I 
thank  you;  and  besides,  let  me  tell  you  that 
you  acted  like  a  person  thirteen  years  old  at 
least." 

Such  words  from  Stasch's  lips  were  the  high- 
est praise,  and  the  little  girl's  heart  burned  with 
joy  and  pride.  At  this  moment  it  seemed  to 
her  that  there  was  nothing  too  great  for  her 
to  attempt. 

**When  I  am  grown  up  they  will  see!"  she 
replied,  casting  an  aggressive  look  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Sudanese. 

As  she  did  not  yet  know  just  what  had 
really  happened,  and  why  the  Arabs  had  at- 
tacked Stasch,  the  boy  began  to  relate  how  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  to  steal  the  gun,  kill  the 
camels,  and  force  their  captors  to  return  with 
them  to  the  river. 

"If  this  had  succeeded,"  he  said,  "we  should 
have  been  free  by  this  time." 

"Did  they  wake  up?"  asked  the  girl  with 
beating  heart. 

"They  did  wake  up!  That  was  Saba's 
doing;  he  came  running  along  and  began  to 
bark  enough  to  awaken  the  dead." 

Then  she  was  angry  with  Saba. 

"Horrid  Saba!    For  doing  that  I  shall  not 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     121 

say  a  word  to  him  when  he  comes  running  up ! 
I  shall  just  tell  him  that  he  is  bad!" 

Although  Stasch  was  not  in  a  laughing 
mood,  he  smiled  and  asked: 

"How  can  you  not  speak  a  word  to  him  and 
at  the  same  time  tell  him  that  he  is  bad?" 

Nell  elevated  her  eyebrows  to  show  her  an- 
noyance, and  with  a  shy  voice  replied : 

"He  will  see  that  by  my  face." 

"Maybe.  But  he  was  not  to  blame,  because 
he  did  not  know  what  was  going  on ;  remember, 
too,  that  he  came  to  our  assistance." 

The  remembrance  of  this  somewhat  cooled 
Nell's  anger,  but  she  did  not  wish  to  forgive 
the  evil-doer  at  once. 

"Very  well,"  she  said;  "but  a  real  gentleman 
ought  not  to  bark  when  greeting  you." 

Stasch  smiled  again. 

"A  real  gentleman  does  not  bark  when  greet- 
ing you  or  when  saying  good-by,  unless  he  be 
a  dog,  and  Saba  is  a  dog." 

Soon  afterward  a  sad  look  came  in  the  boy's 
eyes;  he  sighed  again  and  again,  and  then  got 
up  from  the  stone  on  which  they  were  sitting 
and  said: 

"The  worst  is  that  I  can  not  free  you." 

Nell  stood  on  tip-toe  and  put  her  little  arms 
around  his  neck.  She  wanted  to  console  him, 
wanted  to  murmur  her  thanks  close  to  him, 
with  her  little  face  on  his  cheek;  but  as  she 
could  not  find  appropriate  words,  she  merely 
clung  more  lovingly  to  his  neck  and  kissed  him 


122      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

on  his  ear.  Saba,  who  was  always  late — not 
so  much  because  he  could  not  keep  step  with 
the  camels  as  because  he  chased  jackals  on  the 
way  and  barked  at  the  hawks  crouching  on  the 
rocks — was  seen  running  up  and  making  as 
much  noise  as  usual.  As  soon  as  the  children 
saw  him  they  forgot  everything,  and  notwith- 
standing their  sorry  plight,  they  began  caress- 
ing him  and  plajang  with  him  as  usual,  until 
the  Arabs  stopped  them.  Chamis  gave  the  dog 
food  and  water,  and  then  they  all  remounted 
and  departed  in  great  haste,  going  farther 
toward  the  south. 

This  was  the  longest  ride  they  had  taken 
at  one  stretch,  eighteen  hours  with  but  one 
short  halt.  Only  riding-camels,  who  have  a 
considerable  supply  of  water  in  their  stomachs, 
can  stand  such  a  journey.  Idris  did  not  spare 
them,  for  he  feared  that  the  pursuers  were 
surely  at  his  heels.  He  realized  that  they  must 
have  started  long  ago,  and  conjectured  that 
the  two  engineers  were  at  the  head  of  these 
expeditions  and  would  waste  no  time.  Danger 
threatened  them  from  the  river-side,  for  it  was 
quite  certain  that  the  sheiks  on  both  banks  of 
the  Nile  would  form  scouting  parties  to  go  into 
the  interior  of  the  desert,  and  would  hold  back 
all  travelers  going  south.  Chamis  felt  certain 
that  the  government  and  the  engineers  had 
offered  a  great  reward  for  their  capture,  and 
that  consequently  the  desert  was  probably  filled 
with  searchers.     The  only  way  to  avoid  these 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      123 

would  be  to  go  as  far  west  as  possible;  but  to 
the  west  lay  the  great  oasis  of  Chargeh,  where 
there  was  a  telegraph.  Besides,  were  thej^  to 
go  too  far  away  from  the  river  the  water  would 
give  out  after  a  few  days  and  they  would  die 
of  thirst.  There  was  also  the  question  of  pro- 
visions. It  is  true  that  in  the  two  weeks  pre- 
ceding the  kidnapping  of  the  children  the 
Bedouins  had  hidden  provisions  of  maize,  zwie- 
back, and  dates  in  secret  places  known  only 
to  themselves,  but  these  secret  places  were  four 
days'  journey  from  Medinet.  Idris  was  terror- 
stricken  at  the  thought  that  when  the  food 
gave  out  some  of  them  would  have  to  go  to  the 
villages  on  the  river-banks  to  buy  provisions, 
and  that,  on  account  of  the  strict  watch  and 
the  rewards  offered  by  the  village  sheiks  for 
the  capture  of  the  fugitives,  these  might  easily 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  villagers  and  betray 
the  whole  caravan.  The  situation  was  indeed 
difficult,  almost  desperate,  and  Idris  saw  more 
clearly  every  day  what  a  wild  scheme  he  had 
undertaken. 

*'If  we  had  only  passed  Assuan,"  said  he  to 
himself,  his  heart  full  of  fear  and  despair.  He 
did  not  believe  Chamis,  who  declared  the 
Mahdi's  warriors  had  already  advanced  as  far 
as  Assuan,  for  Stasch  disputed  this,  and  Idris 
had  long  noticed  that  the  white  boj^  knew  more 
than  all  of  them.  However,  he  supposed  that 
beyond  the  first  cataract,  where  the  people  were 
more  savage  and  less  under  the  influences  of  the 


124      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

English  people  and  the  Egyptian  Government, 
more  secret  believers  in  the  prophet  were  to  be 
found,  who  if  necessary  would  help  them  and 
supply  them  with  provisions  and  camels.  But 
the  Bedouins  had  calculated  that  they  were  still 
about  five  days'  journey  from  Assuan. 

The  way  led  through  still  more  desolate 
country,  and  at  every  halt  the  provisions  for 
man  and  beast  sank  lower. 

Fortunately,  they  could  drive  the  camels  on, 
and  make  them  gallop  as  fast  as  they  pleased, 
for  the  heat  had  not  exhausted  the  animals' 
strength.  In  the  daytime,  during  the  noon 
hours,  the  sun  beat  down  fiercely  upon  them, 
but  the  air  was  always  fresh  and  the  nights  so 
cool  that  Stasch,  with  Idris'  permission, 
mounted  Nell's  camel  to  look  after  her  health 
and  to  protect  her  from  the  cold.  But  his  fears 
were  groundless,  for  Dinah,  whose  eyes  had 
greatly  improved,  looked  carefully  after  her 
little  lady. 

The  boy  was  surprised  that  the  little  one's 
health  had  not  suffered,  and  that  she  stood  the 
journey  as  well  as  he,  especially  when  the  halts 
were  becoming  less  and  less  frequent.  Sorrow 
and  fear,  and  the  tears  which  she  had  shed  long- 
ing for  papa,  had  apparently  not  done  her 
much  harm.  She  had  perhaps  become  a  little 
thin,  and  her  pale  face  was  tanned  by  the  wind, 
but  as  time  went  on  she  stood  the  journey 
better  than  in  the  beginning.  Idris  had  given 
her  the  best  camel,  and  had  arranged  the  saddle 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     125 

very  comfortably  so  that  she  could  sleep,  but 
it  was  the  fresh  desert  air  especially,  breathed 
night  and  day,  that  gave  her  the  strength  to 
bear  the  fatigue  and  discomfort  of  the  journey. 
Stasch  not  only  protected  her,  but  he  in- 
tentionally treated  her  with  a  reverence  the 
depth  of  which  he  did  not  realize,  notwith- 
standing his  unusual  attachment  for  the  little 
one.  He  noticed  that  the  Arabs  also  caught 
this  attitude,  and  that  it  unconsciously 
strengthened  their  conviction  that  they  were 
carrying  along  something  exceedingly  pre- 
cious, an  especially  important  prisoner,  whom 
they  had  to  treat  most  carefully.  Idris  had 
accustomed  them  to  this  before  leaving  Medi- 
net,  and  so  they  all  behaved  well  toward  her. 
They  gave  her  plenty  of  water  and  dates.  The 
cruel  Gebhr  dared  not  raise  his  hand  against 
her  again.  Perhaps  the  unusual  beauty  of  the 
girl,  and  the  fact  that  she  looked  somewhat 
like  a  flower  or  a  little  bird,  had  its  effect,  for 
even  the  savage  and  uncultivated  hearts  of  the 
Arabs  could  not  resist  her  charm.  Sometimes, 
also,  at  the  halting-places,  when  she  stood 
around  the  fire  made  of  Jericho  roses,  colored 
with  the  red  light  from  the  flames  and  the 
silvery  light  from  the  moon,  the  Sudanese  and 
the  Bedouins  could  not  take  their  eyes  oif  her, 
but  murmured,  according  to  their  custom, 
smacking  their  lips  as  a  sign  of  admiration: 
"Allah!  Maschallah!  Bismillahl" 
At  noon  the  second  day,  after  traveling  that 


126     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

long  stretch,  Stasch  and  Nell,  who  were  now 
riding  on  the  same  camel,  had  a  moment  of  in- 
tense joy.  Immediately  after  sunrise  a  clear 
and  transparent  mist,  which,  however,  soon 
disappeared,  hovered  over  the  desert.  But 
when  the  sun  rose  higher  the  heat  became 
greater  than  on  the  previous  days.  When  the 
camels  stood  still  for  a  moment  there  was  not 
a  breath  of  wind  stirring,  so  that  the  air,  as 
well  as  the  sand,  appeared  to  slumber  in  heat, 
light,  and  silence.  The  caravan  had  just 
reached  a  large  level  plain,  unbroken  by  ra- 
vines, when  suddenly  a  wonderful  sight  pre- 
sented itself  before  the  children.  Groups  of 
slim  palms  and  pepper-trees,  orange  planta- 
tions, white  houses,  a  small  mosque  with  a 
towering  minaret  and  broad  walls,  surrounded 
by  gardens,  appeared  so  plainly  and  so  close 
to  them  that  it  seemed  as  though  the  caravan 
would  be  under  the  trees  of  an  oasis  in  half 
an  hour. 

"What  is  that?"  cried  Stasch.  "Nell!  Nell! 
Look!" 

As  Nell  raised  up  she  was  struck  dumb  with 
surprise,  but  soon  after  she  cried  out  with  joy: 

"Medinet!    To  papa!    To  papa!" 

But  Stasch  became  pale  with  emotion. 

"In  fact — that  may  be  Chargeh.  But  no!  It 
must  be  Medinet.  I  remember  the  minaret  and 
I  even  see  the  windmill  on  the  well." 

And  in  reality  in  the  distance  were  distinctly 
seen  the  tall  windmills  of  American  wells,  re- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     12T 

sembling  large  white  stars.  These  stood  out 
so  clearly  on  the  green  background  of  the  trees 
that  Stasch's  sharp  eye  could  discern  the  red- 
painted  edges  of  the  spokes  of  the  windmills. 

"That  is  Medinet!" 

Stasch  had  read  in  books  that  in  the  desert 
there  is  an  optical  illusion  known  as  a  "mir- 
age," and  that  travelers  sometimes  see  oases, 
towns,  rows  of  trees,  and  lakes  that  are  not 
real,  but  are  produced  by  atmospheric  con- 
ditions, which,  due  to  the  reflection  of  light, 
cause  far-distant  objects  to  appear  as  if  nearby. 
But  this  time  the  apparition  was  so  distinct 
that  it  seemed  as  if  it  could  be  touched,  and 
although  he  knew  it  must  be  an  illusion,  he 
could  not  doubt  that  he  was  looking  at  the  real 
Medinet.  There  was  the  little  tower  on  the 
house  of  the  Moodir,  the  round-shaped  passage 
just  under  the  top  of  the  minaret,  where  the 
muezzin  calls  the  faithful  to  prayers ;  there  were 
the  familiar  groups  of  trees,  and  especially  the 
windmills!  No,  this  must  be  the  real  place. 
It  occurred  to  the  boy  that  perhaps  the  Sudan- 
ese, after  thinking  things  over,  had  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  would  not  be  able  to 
escape  their  pursuers,  and,  without  having  told 
him,  were  returning  to  Fayoum.  But  they 
were  so  composed  that  he  doubted  if  this  were 
so.  If  it  were  really  Fayoum,  would  they  look 
at  it  with  such  indifference?  For  they  saw  the 
apparition,  too,  and  pointed  it  out  to  one  an- 
other, but  their  faces  portrayed  no  uncertainty 


128     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

or  anxiety.  Stasch  looked  at  it  again,  and  per- 
haps it  was  this  indifference  on  the  part  of  the 
Arabs  which  made  the  picture  appear  to 
fade  before  him.  He  also  thought  that  if  they 
were  really  returning,  the  people,  being  fright- 
ened, would  have  kept  closer  together.  The 
Bedouins,  who  by  Idris'  orders  had  for  several 
days  ridden  on  in  advance,  could  no  longer  be 
seen,  and  Chamis,  who  brought  up  the  rear, 
looked  in  the  distance  no  larger  than  a  hawk 
flying  along  the  ground. 

"The  mirage!"  said  Stasch  to  himself. 

Meanwhile  Idris  approached  and  cried  out 
to  him: 

"Hob!  Drive  the  camel  on!  Don't  you  see 
Medinet?" 

He  appeared  to  be  jesting  and  spoke  in  such 
a  scornful  tone  that  the  very  faintest  shadow 
of  hope  that  this  might  be  Medinet  lying  be- 
fore him  vanished  from  the  boy's  heart. 

Sadly  he  turned  to  Nell  to  dispel  her  illusion 
when  something  suddenly  happened  which 
turned  the  attention  of  all  in  another  direction. 

At  first  one  of  the  Bedouins  came  galloping 
up  fast  toward  them,  and  while  still  at  a  dis- 
tance began  to  gesticulate  with  a  long  Arabian 
gun  that  did  not  belong  to  any  one  in  the  cara- 
van. When  he  reached  Idris  he  exchanged  a 
few  hasty  words  with  him;  then  the  caravan 
turned  toward  the  interior  of  the  desert.  After 
a  while  the  second  Bedouin  appeared,  leading 
a  fat  camel  with  a  saddle  on  its  hump  and 


J 

"Idris  approached  and  cried  out  to  him.  .  .  .  'Don't 
you  see  Medinet?'  He  spoke  in  such  a  scornful  tone  that 
all  hope  vanished  from  the  boy's  heart." — Page  128. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     129 

leather  bags  hanging  down  from  his  flanks. 
Again  a  short  conversation  took  place,  but 
Stasch  could  not  catch  a  word  of  it.  The  cara- 
van rode  quickly  without  a  stop  toward  the 
west,  and  only  halted  when  it  reached  a  narrow 
ravine  full  of  broken  rocks  and  caves.  One  of 
these  was  so  spacious  that  the  Sudanese  were 
able  to  place  all  the  people  and  camels  in  it. 
Although  Stasch  thought  he  knew  what  had 
happened,  he  lay  down  next  to  Idris  and  pre- 
tended to  go  to  sleep,  hoping  that  the  Arabs, 
who  had  scarcely  spoken  a  word  about  their 
adventure  until  now,  would  soon  begin  to  talk 
about  it.  His  hopes  were  well  founded,  for 
soon  after,  having  scattered  food  for  the  camels, 
the  Bedouins  sat  down  to  consult  with  the  Su- 
danese and  Chamis. 

"From  now  on  we  must  ride  only  by  night 
and  hide  in  the  daytime,"  the  one-eyed  Bedouin 
said.  "In  future  we  will  come  across  many  ra- 
vines, and  in  these  we  can  conceal  ourselves 
securely." 

"Are  you  sure  that  it  was  a  guard?"  asked 
Idris. 

"Allah !  We  spoke  to  him.  It  was  good  that 
he  was  alone.  He  stood  concealed  behind  a 
rock  so  that  we  could  not  see  him,  but  we 
heard  the  camel's  voice  from  a  distance.  Then 
we  slackened  our  pace  and  rode  so  softly  that 
he  saw  us  only  when  we  were  a  few  steps  off. 
He  was  very  much  frightened,  and  tried  to 
point  his  gun  at  us.    If  he  had  fired,  even  if  he 


130     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

had  not  killed  one  of  us,  the  other  guards  would 
have  heard  the  shot,  and  so  I  said  to  him 
quickly:  'Stop!  We  are  pursuing  people  who 
have  carried  off  two  white  children,  and  soon  all 
our  company  will  be  here.'  The  fellow  was 
young  and  stupid,  and  so  he  believed  us — 
though  he  made  us  swear  by  the  Koran  that  we 
were  telling  the  truth.  We  dismounted  from 
the  camels  and  swore.  The  Mahdi  will  forgive 
us." 

"And  bless  you,"  said  Idris.  "Tell  us  what 
you  did." 

"When  we  had  sworn,"  continued  the 
Bedouin,  "I  said  to  the  young  man:  'But  who 
can  prove  to  us  that  you  yourself  do  not  belong 
to  the  thieves  who  are  fleeing  with  the  white 
children  and  have  left  you  here  to  hold  up  the 
pursuers?'  I  bade  him  to  swear,  too,  which  he 
did,  and  he  believed  us  all  the  more.  We  began 
to  question  him,  asking  what  orders  had  come 
from  the  sheiks  along  the  copper  wire,  and 
whether  the  thieves  were  being  pursued  in  the 
desert.  He  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  said 
that  they  had  been  promised  great  rewards; 
also  that  all  ravines  at  a  distance  of  two  days' 
journey  from  the  river  were  guarded,  and  that 
there  were  large  baburis  (steamers)  filled  with 
Englishmen  and  soldiers  continually  passing 
up  and  down  the  river." 

"Neither  ships  nor  soldiers  are  of  any  avail 
against  the  power  of  Allah  and  the  prophet." 

"It  is  as  you  say!" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      131 

"And  now  tell  us  how  you  made  way  with 
that  fellow?" 

The  one-eyed  Bedouin  pointed  to  his  com- 
panion. 

"Abu  Anga,"  he  said,  "then  asked  him  if 
there  were  no  other  guards  nearby,  and  on  his 
replying  in  the  negative,  he  suddenly  drove  his 
knife  into  his  throat,  so  that  the  latter  never 
uttered  a  sound.  We  threw  him  into  a  deep  hol- 
low and  covered  him  up  with  stones  and  thorns. 
In  the  village  they  will  think  that  he  has  fled 
to  the  Mahdi,  for  he  told  us  that  such  things 
have  happened." 

"May  God  bless  those  who  flee,  as  he  has 
blessed  us,"  answered  Idris. 

"Yes,  we  have  been  blessed!"  answered  Abu 
Anga.  "For  now  we  know  we  must  keep  three 
days'  journey  away  from  the  river,  and  besides 
that  we  have  captured  a  gun,  which  we  needed, 
and  also  a  camel  to  milk." 

"The  bags,"  added  the  one-eyed  man,  "are 
filled  with  water,  and  there  is  a  fair  amount  of 
millet  in  the  saddle  bags,  but  we  did  not  find 
much  powder." 

"Chamis  has  several  hundred  cartridges, 
which  belong  to  this  white  boy's  gun,  which  we 
don't  know  how  to  shoot.  But  the  powder  is 
the  same  and  it  will  also  do  for  our  gun." 

Still  Idris  became  thoughtful  as  he  heard 
these  words,  and  a  very  troubled  look  was  im- 
printed on  his  dark  face,  for  he  realized  that 
as  one  had  already  been  killed,  even  Stasch's 


132      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

intervention  could  not  protect  them  from  being 
punished,  in  case  they  should  now  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Egyptian  Government. 

Stasch  listened  attentively  with  beating 
heart.  This  conversation  seemed  like  good 
news  to  him,  and  he  was  especially  glad  to  hear 
that  parties  had  been  sent  out  to  hunt  for  them, 
that  rewards  had  been  offered,  and  that  the 
sheiks  of  the  tribes  along  the  banks  had  re- 
ceived orders  to  hold  up  all  caravans  traveling 
south.  The  boy  was  also  greatly  pleased  on 
hearing  about  the  ships  which  steamed  up 
stream  with  the  English  soldiers.  The  Der- 
vishes of  the  Mahdi  could  fight  well  with  the 
Egyptian  army,  and  even  defeat  them,  but  with 
the  English  it  was  quite  different,  and  Stasch 
did  not  doubt  a  minute  that  the  first  battle 
would  end  in  the  savage  tribes  being  completely 
defeated.  Thus  he  consoled  himself  with  the 
thought  that  even  if  they  were  taken  to  the 
Mahdi,  there  was  a  possibility  that  before  they 
got  there  the  Mahdi  or  the  Dervishes  might  be 
wiped  out.  But  he  did  not  feel  so  much  com- 
forted when  he  thought  that  in  this  case  a  jour- 
ney of  a  whole  week  still  lay  before  them,  which 
would  at  least  exhaust  Nell's  strength,  and  that 
during  all  that  time  they  would  be  in  the  com- 
pany of  these  villains  and  murderers. 

When  Stasch  thought  of  the  young  Arab 
whom  the  Bedouins  had  slaughtered  like  a 
sheep,  he  felt  very  much  frightened  and  sad. 
He  decided  not  to  say  anything  about  it  to 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     133 

Nell,  for  fear  that  it  might  terrify  her  and  in- 
crease the  sadness  she  had  felt  on  seeing  the 
illusive  pictures  of  the  oasis  Fayoum  and  the 
town  Medinet  disappear.  Before  they  had 
reached  the  ravine  he  saw  that  her  eyes  were 
filled  with  tears.  And  so,  when  he  had  gotten 
all  the  information  he  wanted  out  of  the  story, 
he  pretended  to  awake,  and  went  to  Nell.  She 
was  sitting  in  a  corner  next  to  Dinah  eating 
dates,  which  she  moistened  a  little  with  her 
tears.  When  she  saw  Stasch  she  remembered 
that  not  long  ago  he  had  praised  her  behavior 
as  being  that  of  a  girl  at  least  thirteen  years 
old,  so  she  clenched  a  date-stone  with  all  her 
might  between  her  teeth,  to  help  her  control 
her  sobs,  that  she  would  not  seem  like  a  child 
again. 

"Nell,"  said  the  boy,  "Medinet  was  an  illu- 
sion, but  I  know  for  certain  that  we  are  being 
followed,  so  don't  worry  any  more  and  don't 
cry  any  more." 

On  hearing  this  the  girl  raised  her  tear- 
stained  eyes  to  him,  and  answered  in  broken 
phrases : 

"No,  Stasch!  I  do  not  want  to  cry — only 
my  eyes — perspire  so " 

At  the  same  moment  her  chin  began  to 
quiver,  large  tears  fell  from  beneath  her  closed 
lids,  and  she  burst  out  crying.  But  being 
ashamed  of  these  tears,  and  expecting  Stasch 
to  reprove  her  for  shedding  them,  she  hid  her 
little  head  for  shame  and  fear  on   Stasch's 


134      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

breast  and  thus  completely  moistened  his 
clothes. 

He  now  began  to  console  her : 

"Nell,  do  not  be  a  fomitain!  Did  you  see 
that  they  have  taken  a  gun  and  a  camel  away 
from  some  Arab?  Do  you  know  what  that 
means?  It  means  that  the  desert  is  full  of 
guards.  These  wretches  have  succeeded  in  sur- 
prising a  guard  this  time,  but  the  next  time 
they  will  be  caught  themselves.  Several  steam- 
ers are  keeping  watch  on  the  Nile!  Of  course, 
Nell,  we  shall  return  home,  and  on  a  steamer, 
too.     Fear  nothing! " 

He  would  have  consoled  her  still  longer  in 
this  way  if  a  peculiar  sound  ringing  out  of  the 
center  of  the  flying  sand,  which  the  last  hurri- 
cane had  blown  into  the  ravine,  had  not  at- 
tracted his  attention.  This  sound  somewhat 
resembled  the  thin  metallic  music  of  a  whistle. 
Stasch  interrupted  the  conversation  and  began 
to  listen.  Soon  afterward  similar  sounds,  thin 
and  sad,  could  be  heard  coming  from  various 
directions  at  once.  An  idea  occurred  to  the  boy 
that  perhaps  Arabian  guards  had  surrounded 
the  ravine  and  were  making  signals  to  one  an- 
other by  means  of  whistles.  His  heart  began  to 
beat.  He  repeatedly  looked  at  the  Sudanese,  in 
the  hope  of  seeing  fear  on  their  faces,  but  in 
vain.  Idris,  Gebhr,  and  the  two  Bedouins 
calmly  chewed  zwieback.  Chamis  was  the  only 
one  who  appeared  surprised,  and  the  sounds 
continued.     After  a  while  Idris  got  up  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      135 

looked   out   of  the   cave;  then   he   returned, 
stopped  in  front  of  the  children,  and  said: 
"The  sand  is  beginning  to  sing." 
Stasch  was  so  curious  that  for  the  moment 
he  forgot  his  resolution  not  to  speak  to  Idris 
again,  and  asked : 

"The  sand?    What  does  that  mean?" 
"It  often  happens;  and  it  means  that  there 
will  be  no  more  rain  for  a  long  time.    But  the 
heat  will  not  harm  us,  for  until  we  reach  Assuan 
we  shall  ride  only  by  night." 

And  he  would  say  no  more.  Stasch  and  Nell 
listened  for  some  time  to  these  peculiar  sounds, 
which  lasted  until  the  sun  went  down  in  the 
west.  Then  night  came  on  and  the  caravan 
continued  on  its  journey. 

CHAPTER   XII 

TOURING  the  day  they  secreted  themselves  in 
^-^  places  difficult  of  access,  in  the  midst  of 
cliffs  and  rocks,  and  during  the  night  they  hur- 
ried on  without  stopping,  until  they  had  passed 
the  first  cataract,  when  at  last  the  Bedouins  rec- 
ognized, from  the  position  and  shape  of  the  khor, 
that  Assuan  now  lay  behind  them.  With  this 
a  heavy  weight  fell  from  Idris'  shoulders.  As 
they  were  now  suffering  for  lack  of  water,  they 
approached  to  within  half  a  day's  journey  of 
the  river.  After  Idris  had  secreted  the  caravan 
for  the  following  night,  he  sent  all  the  camels 
with  the  Bedouins  to  the  Nile,  so  that  they 


136      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

could  drink  enough  to  last  for  some  time.  The 
fertile  zone  along  the  Nile  becomes  narrower 
after  leaving  Assuan.  In  some  places  the  des- 
ert reaches  to  the  river.  The  villages  are  some 
distance  apart,  and  thus  the  Bedouins  were  able 
to  return  safely,  having  been  perceived  by  no 
one,  and  with  a  plentiful  supply  of  water.  Now 
the  only  question  was  how  to  obtain  food,  for 
their  animals  had  had  so  little  to  eat  this  last 
week  that  they  had  become  very  thin.  Their 
necks  were  long,  their  humps  sunken  in,  and 
their  feet  weak.  The  maize  and  other  food  for 
the  party  could  at  a  stretch  last  only  two  days 
longer.  But  Idris  was  of  the  opinion  that  at 
the  end  of  two  days'  journey,  though  traveling 
only  by  night,  they  might  approach  the  pastures 
near  the  river,  and  perhaps  be  able  to  buy  dates 
and  zwieback  in  some  village. 

Saba  received  absolutely  nothing  more  to  eat 
or  drink;  the  children  saved  some  scraps  for 
him,  but  he  knew  how  to  help  himself  out  in 
some  way,  for  he  arrived  at  the  halting-placesf 
with  a  bloody  throat  and  traces  of  bites  on  his 
neck  and  chest.  Whether  the  spoils  of  these 
fights  were  jackals  or  hyenas,  or  perhaps  even 
sand-foxes  and  gazels,  no  one  ever  knew;  it 
sufficed  that  he  did  not  appear  to  be  very 
hungry.  Sometimes  also  his  black  lips  were 
wet,  as  if  he  had  drunk.  The  Bedouins  sup- 
posed that  he  had  dug  deep  holes  in  the  ground 
of  the  ravines  and  in  this  manner  had  reached 
water  that  he  had  scented  through  the  ground. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      137 

Sometimes  lost  travelers  dig  up  the  broken 
earth,  and  if  they  do  not  always  find  water,  they 
nearly  always  come  upon  wet  sand,  and  by 
sucking  the  water  out  of  it  quench  their  painful 
thirst. 

But  a  great  change  had  also  come  over  Saba. 
His  chest  and  neck  were  still  strong,  but  his 
flanks  were  sunken  in,  which  made  him  look 
taller.  His  bloodshot  eyes  had  a  savage  and 
threatening  look.  But  to  Nell  and  Stasch  he 
was  as  devoted  as  ever,  and  let  them  do  what 
they  liked  with  him;  he  wagged  his  tail  at 
Chamis  now  and  then,  but  at  the  Bedouins  and 
Sudanese  he  barked,  showed  his  terrible  fangs, 
and  ground  his  teeth  like  iron  nails.  Thus 
Idris  and  Gebhr  began  to  be  afraid  of  him, 
and  they  hated  him  so  that  they  would  prob- 
ably have  shot  him  with  the  gun  they  had  cap- 
tured if  the  desire  of  bringing  Smain  such  a 
rare  specimen  of  an  animal,  and  the  fact  that 
they  had  already  left  Assuan  behind  them,  had 
not  held  them  back. 

Assuan  lay  behind  them !  Stasch  continually 
thought  of  this,  and  it  slowly  dawned  upon 
him  that  there  was  great  doubt  of  the  searchers 
overtaking  them.  It  is  true,  he  knew  that  not 
only  the  so-called  Egypt — which  ends  below 
Wadi  Haifa,  that  is,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sec- 
ond cataract — but  also  the  whole  of  Nubia,  was 
at  this  time  in  the  hands  of  the  Egyptian  Gov- 
ernment, and  he  also  realized  that  on  the  other 
side  of  Assuan,  and  especially  below  Wadi 


138     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Haifa,  it  would  be  more  difficult  to  search  for 
them,  and  the  orders  of  the  government  would 
be  less  promptly  executed.  However,  he  still 
cherished  the  hope  that  his  father  and  Mr.  Raw- 
lison,  after  having  organized  the  search,  would 
go  alone  by  steamer  from  Fayoum  to  Wadi 
Haifa,  and  from  there,  after  having  obtained 
from  the  government  soldiers  mounted  on 
camels,  would  try  to  bar  the  way  of  the  caravan 
from  the  southern  side.  The  boy  calculated 
that  he  would  do  this  if  he  were  so  situated, 
and  so  he  considered  that  he  had  a  good  foun- 
dation for  his  supposition. 

He  did  not  give  up  the  thought  of  attempt- 
ing to  escape.  The  Sudanese  wanted  powder 
for  the  gun  they  had  captured,  and  to  get  it 
they  decided  to  tear  open  a  number  of  car- 
tridges ;  so  he  told  them  that  he  only  could  do  it, 
and  that  if  one  of  them  went  clumsily  at  it  the 
cartridge  would  explode  and  tear  oif  his  hand. 
Idris,  who  was  usually  afraid  of  strange  things 
and  English  discoveries,  in  the  end  decided  to 
trust  this  work  to  the  boy.  Stasch  was  glad  to 
do  it,  because  he  hoped  that  the  strong  English 
powder  would  burst  the  old  Arabian  gun  at  the 
first  shot,  and  he  also  hoped  to  be  able  to  secrete 
a  few  cartridges.  He  found  this  easier  than  he 
thought.  He  was  watched  while  he  did  it,  but 
the  Arabs  began  to  talk  among  themselves,  and 
they  were  soon  paying  more  attention  to  their 
conversation  than  to  him.  This  talkativeness 
and  inborn  carelessness  at  last  permitted  Stasch 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      139 

to  hide  seven  cartridges  in  his  breast  pocket. 
Now  it  was  only  a  case  of  gaining  possession 
of  the  rifle. 

The  boy  beheved  that  this  would  not  be  very 
difficult  beyond  Wadi  Haifa,  after  the  second 
cataract,  for  he  supposed  that  the  watchfulness 
of  the  Arabs  would  slacken  in  proportion  as 
they  approached  their  destination.  The 
thought  that  he  would  have  to  kill  the  Bedou- 
ins, the  Sudanese,  and  even  Chamis  still  filled 
him  with  terror,  but  after  the  murder  which 
the  Bedouins  had  committed  he  had  no  more 
scruples.  Pie  said  to  himself  that  after  all  it 
was  a  matter  of  Nell's  defense,  of  her  freedom, 
and  of  her  life,  that  therefore  he  ought  not  to 
spare  the  lives  of  their  enemies,  especially  if  they 
would  not  surrender  and  a  fight  should  result. 
The  question  was  now  how  to  obtain  the  gun. 
Stasch  decided  to  take  it  by  strategy  if  he  found 
a  suitable  opportunity — not  to  wait  till  they 
reached  Wadi  Haifa,  but  to  execute  his  inten- 
tion as  soon  as  possible.    And  he  did  not  wait. 

Two  days  had  now  elapsed  since  they  passed 
Assuan,  and  at  last,  at  daybreak  of  the  third 
day,  Idris  was  obliged  to  send  the  Bedouins 
for  food,  which  was  now  very  scarce.  Stasch, 
when  he  considered  that  he  now  had  fewer  op- 
ponents, said  to  himself,  "Now  or  never!"  and 
immediate^  turned  to  the  Sudanese  with  the 
question : 

"Idris,  do  you  know  that  the  country  begin- 
ning at  Wadi  Haifa  is  Nubia?" 


140     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I  know  it.  I  was  fifteen  and  Gebhr  eight 
years  old  when  our  fathers  brought  us  from 
the  south  to  Fayoum,  and  I  remember  that  at 
that  time  we  traveled  all  through  Nubia  on 
camels.  But  this  country  still  belongs  to  the 
Turks  (Egyptians). 

"Yes,  the  Mahdi  is  only  at  Khartum — ^you 
see  how  stupidly  Chamis  talked  when  he  told 
you  that  the  army  of  the  Dervishes  extended  as 
far  as  Assuan.  But  I  should  Mke  to  ask  you 
another  question.  I  have  read  in  books  that  in 
Nubia  there  are  many  wild  animals  and  thieves, 
who  are  no  good  to  any  one  and  who  attack  the 
Egyptians  as  well  as  the  faithful  followers  of 
the  Mahdi.  How  will  you  defend  yourselves 
if  wild  animals  or  thieves  attack  you?" 

Stasch  purposely  exaggerated  when  speak- 
ing of  wild  animals,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
since  the  beginning  of  the  war  attacks  by  rob- 
bers had  become  quite  frequent,  especially  in 
the  southern  parts  of  the  country  bordering  on 
Sudan. 

Idris  considered  the  question  a  while,  for  he 
was  not  prepared  to  answer  it  because  he  had 
not  previously  thought  of  these  new  dangers; 
then  he  said: 

"We  have  knives  and  a  gun." 

"A  gun  like  yours  is  of  no  use." 

"I  know  it.  Yours  is  better,  but  we  do  not 
understand  it,  and  we  shall  not  give  it  into  your 
hands." 

"Even  if  it  is  not  loaded?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      141 

"Yes,  for  it  might  be  bewitched." 

Stasch  raised  his  eyebrows. 

"Idris,  if  Gebhr  had  said  this  I  should  not 
have  been  surprised;  but  you— I  thought  you 
had  more  sense!  With  an  unloaded  gun  even 
the  Mahdi  could  not  shoot." 

"Be  silent !"  interrupted  Idris  angrily.  "The 
Mahdi  can  shoot  with  nothing  but  his  fingers." 

"Then  you  shoot  like  that  yourself." 

The  Sudanese  gazed  questioningly  into  the 
boy's  eyes. 

"Why  do  you  want  me  to  give  you  the  gun?" 

"I  will  teach  you  how  to  shoot  with  it." 

"What  good  will  that  do?" 

"A  great  deal,  for  if  thieves  attack  us  they 
might  kill  all  of  us!  But  if  you  are  afraid  of 
the  gun  or  even  of  me,  then  let  the  matter 
drop." 

Idris  remained  silent.  He  was  really  afraid, 
though  he  did  not  want  to  own  it.  But  he  was 
very  anxious  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
English  weapon,  for  possessing  it  and  knowing 
how  to  use  it  would  give  him  higher  standing  in 
the  camp  of  the  Mahdists — besides  which  he 
could  more  readily  defend  himself  in  case  of  an 
attack. 

So  after  considering  a  while  he  said: 

"All  right.  Chamis  shall  give  us  the  gun 
and  you  can  take  it  out  of  the  case." 

Chamis  followed  out  the  order  in  a  half- 
hearted way,  and  Gebhr  could  offer  no  oppo- 
sition because  he  was  busy  nearby  with  the 


142     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

camels.  With  trembling  hands  outstretched, 
Stasch  took  the  barrel,  then  the  butt,  and 
handed  them  to  Idris. 

"You  see  that  it  is  empty,"  he  said. 

Idris  took  the  barrel  and  looked  through  it 
into  the  air. 

"Yes,  there  is  nothing  in  it." 

"Now  pay  attention,"  said  Stasch;  "this  is 
the  way  the  gun  is  put  together" — and  at  the 
same  time  he  put  the  butt  and  the  barrel  to- 
gether— "and  this  is  the  way  it  is  opened.  Do 
you  see?  I  shall  now  take  it  apart,  and  then 
you  may  put  it  together  again." 

The  Sudanese,  who  followed  Stasch's  move- 
ments very  attentively,  tried  to  do  likewise,  but 
he  did  not  find  it  very  easy;  however,  as  the 
Arabs  are  generally  noted  for  their  great  dex- 
terity, the  gun  was  put  together  after  a  while. 

"Open  it,"  said  Stasch. 

Idris  opened  the  gun  without  any  trouble. 

"Close  it." 

This  was  done  still  more  easily. 

"Now  give  me  two  empty  cartridges.  I  will 
teach  you  how  to  put  them  in." 

The  Arabs  had  kept  the  empty  cartridges, 
and  so  Idris  handed  two  of  them  to  Stasch, 
and  the  lesson  began  again. 

The  Sudanese  at  first  became  frightened  at 
the  noise  which  the  cartridges  made,  but  at  last 
he  was  convinced  that  one  can  not  shoot  with 
the  empty  barrel  of  a  gun  or  with  empty  cart- 
ridges.     Besides    his    confidence    in    Stasch 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      143 

also  returned,  because  the  boy  gave  him  the 
weapon  to  hold  in  his  hands  every  few 
seconds. 

"So,"  said  Stasch,  "you  can  put  the  gun  to- 
gether, you  can  open,  shut,  point,  and  pull  the 
trigger,  but  you  must  also  learn  how  to  take 
aim,  and  that  is  the  most  difficult  of  all.  Take 
an  empty  water-bag  and  set  it  down  a  hundred 
paces  away — there,  on  one  of  those  stones,  and 
then  come  back  to  me.  I  will  show  you  how  to 
take  aim." 

Idris  did  not  hesitate,  but  took  a  leather  bag 
and  started  to  set  it  up  on  the  designated  stone. 
Before  he  had  gone  the  first  hundred  paces 
Stasch  had  drawn  out  the  empty  cartridges  and 
replaced  them  with  charged  ones.  Stasch's 
heart  and  temples  began  to  throb  so  violently 
that  he  thought  his  head  would  split.  The  de- 
cisive moment  had  come — the  moment  of  free- 
dom for  Nell  and  himself — the  terrible  and 
longed-for  moment  of  victory! 

Now  Idris'  life  was  in  his  hands.  One  pull 
on  the  trigger  and  the  traitor  who  carried  off 
Nell  would  fall  dead.  But  Stasch,  in  whose 
veins  flowed  Polish  and  French  blood,  sud- 
denly felt  that  nothing  in  the  world  could  tempt 
him  to  shoot  one  whose  back  was  toward  him. 
For  ought  he  not  at  least  have  the  privilege  of 
turning  around  and  looking  death  in  the  face? 
And  what  would  happen  then?  Then  Gebhr 
would  come  running  up,  and  before  he  had 
taken  ten  steps  he,  too,  would  lie  writhing  in 


144     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  sand.  Then  there  was  Chamis,  but  the 
latter  would  lose  his  head,  and  even  if  he  did 
not  Stasch  would  have  time  to  reload  the  gun. 
When  the  Bedouins  returned  they  would  find 
the  three  bodies  and  they  themselves  would 
meet  their  deserts.  All  that  remained  to  be 
done  would  be  to  guide  the  camels  toward  the 
river. 

These  thoughts  raced  through  Stasch's  head 
like  a  whirlwind.  He  felt  that  the  deed  to  be 
committed  in  a  few  seconds  was  most  terrible, 
but  at  the  same  time  most  necessary.  Pride  of 
victory  battled  in  his  breast  with  feelings  of 
horror  and  distaste  of  the  means  necessary  for 
mastery.  He  hesitated  only  a  moment  when  he 
remembered  the  tortures  that  white  prisoners 
had  suffered ;  and  at  the  thought  of  his  father, 
of  Mr.  Rawlison,  of  Nell,  and  of  Gebhr,  who 
had  beaten  the  girl  with  the  scourge,  he  be- 
came more  bitter  against  them.  "It  must  be! 
It  must  be!"  he  cried  through  his  clenched 
teeth,  and  his  unalterable  resolution  showed  in 
his  face,  which  was  now  set  as  if  carved  out  of 
flint. 

Meanwhile  Idris  had  laid  the  leather  bag 
down  on  a  stone  a  hundred  feet  off  and  turned 
around.  Stasch  saw  his  smiling  face  and  tall 
figure  on  the  flat,  sandy  plain.  For  the  last 
time  the  thought  flashed  through  his  mind  that 
this  man,  now  living,  would  shortly  fall  to  earth 
and  grovel  in  the  sand  in  his  death  agony.  But 
the  boy  hesitated  no  longer,  and  when  Idris 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     145 

was  fifty  feet  nearer  he  slowly  lifted  the  weapon 
to  his  cheek. 

But  before  he  had  time  to  place  his  finger 
on  the  trigger  a  loud  voice  was  heard  in  the 
direction  of  the  sand-dunes  several  hundred 
feet  away,  and  at  the  same  moment  about 
twenty  riders  on  horses  and  camels  appeared 
on  the  plain.  Idris  was  struck  dumb  at  the 
sight ;  Stasch  was  no  less  surprised,  but  his  sur- 
prise was  soon  changed  to  the  greatest  joy.  At 
last  these  must  be  the  people  sent  in  search  of 
them,  for  whom  they  had  waited  so  long !  Yes, 
it  must  be!  Doubtless  the  Bedouins  had  been 
captured  in  the  village,  and  had  confessed 
where  the  caravan  was  hidden.  Idris  must 
have  had  the  same  idea,  for  after  recovering 
from  his  first  fright  he  came  running  up  to 
Stasch,  his  face  pale  with  terror,  and  kneeling 
at  his  feet,  repeated  in  a  gasping  voice : 

"Sir,  remember  that  I  have  been  good  to 
you!    I  have  been  good  to  the  little  Biut." 

Stasch  mechanically  took  the  cartridges  out 
of  the  gun  and  gazed  at  the  riders,  who  gal- 
loped up  to  them  as  quickly  as  their  animals 
could  carry  them,  and  with  cries  of  joy  tossed 
their  long  Arabian  guns  in  the  air  and  caught 
them  again  most  dexterously  while  the 
animals  were  still  galloping.  In  the  clear, 
transparent  light  they  could  be  distinctly  seen. 
At  their  head  galloped  two  Bedouins,  who  were 
gesticulating  most  violently  with  their  hands 
and  burnooses. 


146     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

In  a  few  minutes  the  whole  company  reached 
the  caravan.  Several  of  the  riders  sprang  off 
the  horses  and  camels ;  others  remained  in  their 
saddles  continually  shouting.  But  all  that 
could  be  understood  were  two  words:  "Khar- 
tum!   Gordon!    Gordon!    Khartum!" 

One  of  the  Bedouins,  whom  his  companion 
called  Abu  Anga,  at  last  rushed  up  to  Idris, 
who  was  crouching  at  Stasch's  feet,  and  cried: 

"Khartum  has  fallen!  Gordon  is  dead!  The 
Mahdi  is  triumphant!" 

Idris  stood  up,  but  did  not  believe  his  ears. 

"And  these  people?"  he  asked,  his  lips 
trembling. 

"These  people  were  supposed  to  capture  us, 
but  now  they  are  going  to  accompany  us  to 
the  prophet." 

Everything  grew  dark  before  Stasch's  eyes. 

CHAPTER   XIII 

npHE  last  hope  of  escaping  during  the  jour- 
-■■  ney  had  entirely  disappeared.  Stasch 
knew  that  nothing  he  could  think  of  would  now 
be  of  any  avail;  he  realized  that  the  searching 
parties  would  not  overtake  them,  and  that  if 
they  survived  the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  they 
would  reach  the  Mahdi  and  be  surrendered  to 
Smain.  His  only  comforting  thought  was  that 
they  were  being  carried  off  for  Smain  to  ex- 
change them  for  his  children.  But  when  would 
that  take  place,  and  what  would  they  have  to 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     147 

endure  beforehand?  What  terrible  fate 
awaited  them  in  the  midst  of  a  bloodthirsty, 
savage  tribe?  Whether  Nell  would  be  able  to 
stand  the  fatigue  and  privations  no  one  could 
tell.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  certain  that 
the  Mahdi  and  his  Dervishes  hated  Chris- 
tians and  Europeans ;  and  so  in  the  boy's  heart 
there  arose  a  fear  as  to  whether  Smain's  influ- 
ence would  be  powerful  enough  to  pro- 
tect them  against  defamation,  mistreatment, 
cruelty,  and  the  rage  of  the  Mahdists,  who 
murdered  even  Mohammedans  who  were  loyal 
to  the  government.  For  the  first  time  since 
they  were  carried  off  Stasch  gave  himself  up  to 
despair,  and  a  somewhat  superstitious  expec- 
tation that  misfortune  was  following  them  took 
possession  of  him.  For  was  not  the  idea  of 
carrying  them  off  from  Fayoum  and  bringing 
them  to  Khartum  in  itself  perfect  madness, 
that  only  stupid  and  savage  people  like  Idris 
and  Gebhr  would  entertain,  because  they  did 
not  consider  that  they  had  to  travel  thousands 
of  kilometers  in  a  land  that  was  under  Egyp- 
tian, or,  more  strictly  speaking,  under  English, 
control?  If  things  had  gone  as  they  naturally 
should,  they  would  have  been  found  the  very 
next  day ;  as  things  were,  they  were  now  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  second  cataract.  None  of  the  other 
caravans  sent  to  search  for  them  had  overtaken 
them,  and  the  members  of  the  last  one  which 
might  have  held  them  up  had  even  joined  their 
kidnappers  and  placed  themselves  at  their  ser- 


148      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

vice  Stasch's  despair,  and  his  anxiety  as  to  what 
would  be  the  fate  of  Httle  Nell,  was  augmented 
by  his  feeling  of  humiliation  that  up  to  this 
time  none  of  his  plans  had  succeeded,  and  what 
was  worse,  that  he  could  not  devise  new  ones, 
for  even  though  the  gun  and  cartridges  had 
been  returned  to  him,  he  could  not  shoot  down 
all  the  Arabs  now  in  the  caravan. 

These  thoughts  troubled  him  all  the  more 
because  deliverance  had  been  so  very  near.  If 
Khartum  had  not  fallen,  or  had  fallen  only  a 
few  days  later,  the  same  people  who  had  now 
gone  over  to  the  Mahdi's  side  would  have  cap- 
tured the  kidnappers  and  delivered  them  over 
to  the  government.  Stasch,  sitting  behind 
Idris  on  the  camel  and  listening  to  their  con- 
versation, soon  convinced  himself  that  this 
would  certainly  have  been  the  course;  for  no 
sooner  had  they  started  on  again  than  the 
leader  of  the  pursuing  party  began  to  tell  Idris 
what  had  caused  them  to  betray  the  Khedive. 
They  had  known  that  a  large  army,  not  Egyp- 
tian, but  English,  under  command  of  General 
Wolseley,  had  gone  toward  the  south  to  fight 
against  the  Dervishes.  They  had  seen  a  num- 
ber of  boats  which  the  terrible  English  had 
taken  from  Assuan  to  Wadi  Haifa,  where  a 
railroad  was  being  built  to  convey  their  soldiers 
as  far  as  Abu  Hammed.  For  some  time  all 
sheiks  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile — those  who  re- 
mained true  to  the  government  as  well  as  those 
who  secretly  sympathized  with  the  Mahdi — 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     149 

were  convinced  that  the  destruction  of  the  Der- 
vishes and  of  their  prophet  was  inevitable,  for 
no  one  had  ever  conquered  the  Enghsh. 

"Allah  Akbar!"  interrupted  Idris,  as  he 
raised  his  hands  in  the  air,  "and  yet  they  have 
been  conquered!" 

"No!"  replied  the  leader.  "The  Mahdi  let 
the  Dschalno,  Berbers,  and  Dadschim  tribes 
and  thirty  thousand  of  his  best  warriors  com- 
manded by  Musa,  the  son  of  Helu,  take  the 
field  against  them.  At  Abu  Klea  a  terrible 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  God  gave  the  vic- 
tory to  the  unbelievers.  Musa,  the  son  of 
Helu,  fell,  and  only  a  small  remnant  of  his 
army  returned  to  the  Mahdi.  The  souls  of  the 
rest  are  in  Paradise  and  their  bodies  lie  in  the 
sand,  awaiting  the  day  of  resurrection.  The 
news  of  this  battle  was  soon  spread  along  the 
banks  of  the  Nile.  Then  we  thought  that  the 
English  would  advance  further  south  and  re- 
lease Khartum.  The  people  cried  'The  end! 
The  end !'  Meanwhile  it  pleased  God  to  make 
other  plans." 

"How?  What  has  happened?"  asked  Idris, 
feverishly  excited. 

"What  has  happened?"  continued  the  leader, 
his  face  beaming.  "Meanwhile,  the  Mahdi 
took  Khartum,  and  during  the  battle  Gordon's 
head  was  cut  off,  and  as  the  English  were  only 
interested  in  Gordon,  when  they  heard  of  his 
death  they  returned  to  the  north  again.  Allah ! 
We  saw  ship-loads  of  soldiers  going  up  the 


150     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

river,  but  we  did  not  know  what  that  meant. 
The  Enghsh  naturally  only  spread  good  news ; 
bad  news  they  keep  to  themselves.  Therefore 
some  of  our  j)arty  said  that  the  Mahdi  had 
fallen.  But  in  the  end  the  truth  came  to  light.  It 
is  a  fact  that  this  land  where  we  are  still  be- 
longs to  the  government.  In  Wadi  Haifa,  and 
as  far  south  as  the  third  and  perhaps  the  fourth 
cataract,  the  Khedive's  soldiers  may  still  be 
seen,  but  now  that  the  English  have  retreated 
we  firmly  believe  that  the  Mahdi  will  conquer 
not  only  Nubia  and  Egypt,  Mecca  and  Me- 
dina, but  the  whole  world.  And  instead  of 
taking  you  prisoners  and  giving  you  over  to  the 
government,  we  are  going  to  accompany  you 
to  the  prophet." 

"So  then  orders  have  been  given  to  capture 
us?" 

"In  every  village,  to  all  the  sheiks,  and  at 
all  military  stations.  To  places  that  could  not 
be  reached  by  the  copper  wire  along  which  the 
orders  from  Cairo  were  sent,  policemen  were 
ordered  to  make  the  announcement  that  who- 
ever captured  you  would  receive  a  reward  of  a 
thousand  pounds.  Maschallah!  That  is  a 
large  fortune!    A  large  one!" 

Idris  looked  suspiciously  at  the  speaker. 

"And  you  prefer  the  blessing  of  the  Mahdi?" 

"Yes,  and  besides,  he  has  captured  so  much 
spoil  and  so  much  money  in  Khartum  that  he 
shovels  out  Egyptian  pounds  by  the  bagful 
and  divides  it  among  the  faithful " 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     151 

"But  if  the  Egyptian  soldiers  are  still  in 
Wadi  Haifa,  and  further  south,  they  may  cap- 
ture us  on  the  road." 

"No !  But  we  must  be  quick,  before  they  get 
their  bearings;  for  since  the  English  have  re- 
treated they  all  have  lost  their  senses,  sheiks 
loyal  to  the  government  as  well  as  the  soldiers 
and  police.  Ever}^  one  believes  that  the  JNIahdi 
will  appear  at  any  minute,  and  so  those  of  us 
who  are  secretly  his  followers  are  fleeing  to 
him;  no  one  hinders  us,  for  there  is  so  much 
confusion  that  no  one  gives  orders,  and  no  one 
knows  whom  to  obey." 

"Yes,  that  is  so!"  answered  Idris.  "But  you 
were  right  in  saying  that  we  must  hurry,  be- 
fore they  recover  their  senses,  for  it  is  still  quite 
a  distance  to  Khartum " 

Stasch,  who  had  carefully  listened  to  this 
whole  conversation,  felt  a  momentary  feeble 
ray  of  hope  flickering  in  his  heart.  If  the 
Egyptian  soldiers  are  still  occupying  several 
places  in  Nubia  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile, 
then — as  the  English  had  taken  all  the  ships 
with  them — they  must  get  beyond  reach  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Mahdi  by  going  along  the  road. 
And  in  this  case  it  might  happen  that  the 
caravan  would  meet  the  retreating  soldiers  and 
be  surrounded  by  them.  Stasch  also  calculated 
that  it  would  take  a  much  longer  time  for  the 
news  of  the  capture  of  Khartum  to  reach  the 
Arabian  tribes  living  to  the  north  of  Wadi 
Haifa,  especially  as  the  Egyptian  Government 


152     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  the  English  were  trying  to  keep  their  de- 
feat a  secret;  so  he  supposed  that  the  lawless- 
ness that  must  have  taken  place  at  first  among 
the  Egyptians  must  be  quite  over  by  this  time. 
It  never  occurred  to  the  inexperienced  boy  that 
the  fall  of  Kliartum  and  the  death  of  Gordon 
would  occupy  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
exclusion  of  everything  else,  and  that  the  sheiks 
loyal  to  the  government  and  the  local  officials 
would  now  have  other  things  to  do  than  to  think 
of  the  deliverance  of  two  white  children.  In 
fact,  the  Arabs  who  joined  their  caravan  had 
not  the  least  fear  of  being  pursued.  Though 
they  traveled  very  rapidly  and  did  not  spare 
the  camels,  they  remained  near  the  Nile,  and 
often  at  night  they  turned  toward  the  river  to 
water  the  animals  and  to  fill  the  leather  bags. 
Sometimes  they  even  risked  riding  into  the  vil- 
lages in  broad  daylight.  Nevertheless,  to  make 
things  doubly  safe,  they  sent  several  people  in 
advance  to  reconnoiter,  who  made  an  excuse  of 
buying  provisions,  to  find  out  the  news  of  the 
district — whether  all  the  Egyptian  soldiers  had 
left  the  neighborhood  and  whether  the  inhab- 
itants were  partisans  of  the  Turks  (Egyp- 
tians) .  When  they  came  upon  a  place  whose 
inhabitants  secretly  sympathized  with  the 
Mahdi,  the  whole  caravan  rode  into  the  village, 
and  it  often  happened  that  when  the  caravan 
left  the  place  it  was  joined  by  several  young 
Arabs  desirous  of  fleeing  to  the  Mahdi. 
Idris  also  learned  that  nearly  all  the  Egyp- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     153 

tian  detachments  were  in  the  Nubian  desert, 
and  therefore  on  the  right,  the  eastern  side  of 
the  Nile;  and  to  prevent  meeting  them  they 
would  be  obliged  to  follow  the  left  bank  and  go 
around  the  larger  towns  and  settlements.  That 
lengthened  the  journey,  for  the  river  begin- 
ning at  Wadi  Haifa  makes  an  enormous  curve, 
which  at  first  stretches  out  far  toward  the 
south  and  then  turns  off  toward  the  northeast 
as  far  as  Abu  Hammed,  where  it  takes  a  more 
southerly  direction ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  this 
left  bank,  especially  south  of  the  oasis  of 
Selimeh,  was  practically  unguarded,  and  the 
Sudanese  found  the  journey  quite  pleasant, 
owing  to  their  increased  numbers,  and  the  plen- 
tiful supply  of  food  and  water.  After  the 
third  cataract  was  passed  there  was  no  need  to 
hurry,  and  so  they  rode  only  by  night,  hiding 
themselves  during  the  day  between  the  hills  or 
in  the  ravines.  Now  a  cloudless  sky  hung  over 
them,  gray  and  quiet  on  the  horizon  and  in  the 
middle  vaulted  like  a  large  dome.  Every  day 
they  advanced  toward  the  south  the  heat  be- 
came more  and  more  unbearable,  and  even  in 
the  narrow  passes  and  through  the  deepest 
shade  the  heat  beat  down  upon  the  caravan. 
But  to  offset  this  the  nights  were  very  cold, 
and  the  heavens  were  sprinkled  with  shining 
stars  that  seemed  to  cluster  in  large  and  small 
groups.  Stasch  noticed  that  they  were  not  the 
same  constellations  as  those  in  Port  Said.  He 
had  dreamed  one  day  of  seeing  the  southern 


154      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

cross,  and  now  he  really  saw  it  behind  El- 
Ordeh,  and  its  light  only  prophesied  misfor- 
tune for  him.  For  several  evenings  the  pale 
twinkling  of  the  somber  zodiacal  stars  lighted 
up  the  west  side  of  the  heavens  for  some  time 
after  the  sun  had  set. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

Two  weeks  after  leaving  the  district  of  Wadi 
Haifa  the  caravan  entered  the  land  that 
had  been  conquered  by  the  Mahdi.  They  gal- 
loped over  the  hilly  desert  of  El-Gesireh 
(Dschesirah)  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Schendi, 
where  the  English  had  previously  inflicted  a 
crushing  defeat  upon  Musa's  army,  they 
crossed  a  district  which  in  nowise  resembled  a 
desert.  Here  there  were  no  sand  plains  or 
hillocks.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  ex- 
tended a  steppe  of  partly  green  grass  and 
jungle,  where  grew  groups  of  the  prickly 
acacias  that  yield  the  well-known  Sudanese 
rubber.  Here  and  there  they  came  across  enor- 
mous trees  with  such  wide-spreading  branches 
that  a  hundred  people  could  take  shelter  from 
the  sun  under  them.  From  time  to  time  the 
caravan  passed  high,  pillar-like  hills  covered 
with  ants,  which  grow  all  over  equatorial  Africa. 
The  green  of  the  pastures  and  acacias,  after  the 
monotonous  dull  color  of  the  desert  sand,  was 
more  than  grateful  to  the  eye.  Here  Stasch 
and  Nell  for  the  first  time  beheld  enormous 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      155 

zizyphus^  trees  and  equally  large  oaks.  They 
also  saw  large  dog-headed  baboons,  that  on 
catching  sight  of  Saba  showed  their  anger  by 
their  quick  motions  and  by  snarling,  but  did  not 
venture  to  attack  him. 

In  places  where  the  steppe  somewhat  re-, 
sembled  a  meadow  a  great  many  camels  grazed, 
guarded  by  armed  warriors  of  the  Mahdi.  At 
the  sight  of  the  caravan  the  guards  jumped  up 
like  birds  of  prey,  ran  toward  them,  hemmed 
them  in  on  all  sides,  and  shaking  their  spears 
and  crying  aloud,  questioned  them  as  to  where 
they  came  from,  why  they  were  coming  from 
the  north,  and  where  they  were  going.  Some- 
times they  assumed  such  a  threatening  manner 
that  Idris  was  obliged  to  answer  the  questions 
at  once  to  avoid  being  attacked. 

Stasch,  who  had  supposed  that  the  only  dif- 
ference between  the  inhabitants  of  Sudan  and 
the  Arabs  living  in  Egypt  consisted  in  their 
belief  in  the  Mahdi,  and  their  unwillingness  to 
recognize  the  authority  of  the  Khedive,  found 
that  he  had  been  greatly  mistaken.  Most  of 
those  who  now  constantly  held  up  the  caravan 
had  a  darker  complexion  than  Idris  and  Gebhr, 
and,  compared  with  the  Bedouins,  seemed 
almost  black.  There  was  more  negro  than 
Arabian  blood  in  their  veins.  Their  faces  and 
the  upper  parts  of  their  bodies  were  tattooed 
in  various  designs  or  with  phrases  from  the 

'  Zizyphus   Spina   Christi,  a   spiny  and   usually   small  shrub, 
sometimes  called  the  jujube-tree. 


156     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Koran.  Some  of  them  were  almost  naked, 
others  wore  "Dschubis,"  or  coats  of  white 
woolen  texture,  finished  off  with  colored 
patches.  Many  had  branches  of  coral  or 
pieces  of  ivory  drawn  through  their  noses, 
lips,  and  ears.  The  chiefs  covered  their  heads 
with  white  caps,  of  the  same  material  as  their 
coats.  The  ordinary  soldiers  were  bareheaded, 
but  their  skulls  were  not  shaven  like  those  of 
the  Arabs  of  Egypt ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were 
covered  with  coarse,  disheveled  hair,  which  was 
often  colored  red  and  almost  burned  up  by  the 
chalk  with  which  it  was  rubbed  as  a  protection 
against  vermin.  Their  weapons  were  mostly 
spears,  which  they  could  wield  with  fatal  dex- 
terity, and  they  had  plenty  of  Remington  rifles, 
captured  in  their  victorious  battles  with  the 
Egyptian  army,  and  also  after  the  fall  of  Khar- 
tum. On  the  whole,  their  appearance  was 
enough  to  frighten  any  one.  Their  behavior 
toward  the  caravan  was  hostile,  for  they  sus- 
pected that  it  was  made  up  of  Egyptian  mer- 
chants, whom  the  Mahdi  had,  directly  after  the 
victory,  forbidden  to  enter  Sudan.  While  they 
surrounded  the  caravan  they  screamed  and 
brandished  their  spears  at  the  breasts  of  the 
men,  or  pointed  the  barrels  of  their  guns  at 
them,  whereupon  Idris'  voice  arose  above  their 
shrieks;  he  told  them  that  he  and  his  brother 
belonged  to  the  Dangali  tribe,  the  same  to 
which  the  Mahdi  belonged,  and  that  they  were 
taking  the  white  children  as  prisoners  to  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      157 

prophet.  This  alone  withheld  the  savages  from 
laying  violent  hands  on  them.  When  at  last 
Stasch  fully  realized  this  terrible  truth,  his 
heart  was  heavy  at  the  thought  of  what  they 
still  had  to  look  forward  to  during  the  days 
that  were  to  follow.  Even  Idris,  who  had  lived 
for  years  in  a  civilized  land,  could  not  imagine 
anything  more  dreadful ;  and  he  was  glad  when 
an  armed  division  of  the  Emir  Nur-el-Tadhil 
surrounded  their  caravan  one  evening  and  took 
them  to  Khartum. 

Before  Nur-el-Tadhil  had  fled  to  the  Mahdi 
he  had  been  an  officer  in  one  of  the  Khedive's 
negro  regiments,  and  since  he  was  not  so  savage 
as  the  other  Mahdists,  Idris  was  better  able 
to  get  along  with  him.  But  even  here  he  was 
doomed  to  be  disappointed.  He  had  imagined 
that  his  arrival  with  white  children  in  the  camp 
of  the  Mahdi  would,  in  consideration  of  the 
terrible  fatigue  and  the  dangers  of  the  journey, 
arouse  admiration.  He  hoped  that  the  Mah- 
dists would  receive  him  enthusiastically  and 
lead  him  in  triumph  to  the  prophet,  and  that 
the  latter  would  lavish  gold  and  praise  upon 
him  who  had  rendered  such  service  to  his  rel- 
ative, Fatima.  But  the  Mahdists  brandished 
their  spears  against  the  caravan,  while  Nur-el- 
Tadhil  listened  languidly  to  the  description  of 
the  journey.  When  at  last  he  was  asked  if  he 
knew  Smain,  the  husband  of  Fatima,  he  said: 

"No;  in  Omdurman  and  Khartum  there  are 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  warriors,  so  it  is 


158      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

impossible  for  them  to  know  one  another ;  even 
all  the  officers  are  not  acquainted.  The  king- 
dom of  the  prophet  is  exceedingly  large  and 
therefore  many  emirs  rule  over  the  distant 
towns  in  the  districts  of  Sennaar,  Kordofan, 
Darfur,  and  near  Fashoda.  It  may  be  that 
this  Smain  of  whom  you  speak  is  not  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  prophet  just  now." 

Idris  felt  rather  hurt  by  the  disdainful  tone 
with  which  Nur  spoke  of  "this  Smain,"  and  so 
he  answered  rather  impatiently: 

"Smain  is  married  to  a  cousin  of  the  Mahdi, 
and  thus  Smain's  children  are  relatives  of  the 
prophet." 

"The  Mahdi  has  many  relatives  and  can  not 
remember  them  all." 

For  a  while  they  rode  on  in  silence,  then 
Idris  again  asked: 

"When  shall  we  arrive  in  Khartum?" 

"Before  midnight,"  answered  Tadhil,  look- 
ing at  the  stars,  which  began  to  appear  on  the 
western  side  of  the  heavens. 

"Shall  I  be  able  to  get  provisions  and  fodder 
at  such  a  late  hour?  We  have  not  eaten  any- 
thing since  our  noon-day  rest." 

"You  may  sleep  and  eat  at  my  house  to- 
night, but  to-morrow,  in  Omdurman,  you  must 
provide  your  own  food,  and  I  warn  you  in  ad- 
vance it  will  not  be  very  easy." 

"Why?" 

"On  account  of  the  war.  The  people  have 
not  cultivated  the  fields  in  many  years,  but  have 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     159 

lived  on  meat,  and  when  the  cattle  gave  out  a 
famine  ensued.  Throughout  the  entire  south 
a  famine  reigns,  and  to-day  a  sack  of  maize 
costs  more  than  a  slave." 

"Allah  Akbar!"  cried  Idris,  astonished. 
"Did  I  not  see  a  great  many  camels  and  herds 
of  cattle  on  the  steppe?" 

"Those  belong  to  the  prophet,  to  the  nobles,^ 
and  the  califs.  Yes,  the  Dangalis,  from  whose 
tribe  come  the  Mahdi,  and  the  Baggars,  whose 
chieftain  is  the  chief  calif  Abdullah,  still  have 
herds  in  plenty,  but  life  is  harder  and  harder 
for  the  other  tribes." 

Here  Nur-el-Tadhil  tapped  his  stomach  and 
said: 

"In  the  service  of  the  prophet  I  have  a  higher 
place,  more  money,  and  greater  power,  but  in 
the  service  of  the  Khedive  I  had  a  larger 
stomach." 

As  he  feared  he  might  have  said  too  much, 
he  added; 

"But  this  will  all  be  a  thing  of  the  past  when 
the  true  faith  conquers." 

When  Idris  heard  this  remark  he  uncon- 
sciously thought  of  how  he,  too,  when  in 
Fayoum  and  in  the  service  of  the  English,  had 
never  suffered  from  hunger,  and  that  he  could 
easily  earn  money,  and  he  became  very  sad. 

Then  he  asked  more  questions : 

"So  to-morrow  you  will  take  us  to  Omdur- 
manf 

'  The  Mahdi's  brothers  and  relatives. 


160     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Yes.  By  order  of  the  prophet,  Khartum 
is  to  be  depopulated,  and  there  are  now  very- 
few  people  there.  The  larger  houses  are  being 
pulled  down,  and  the  material  will  be  taken 
along  with  the  remaining  spoil  to  Omdurman. 
The  prophet  will  not  live  in  a  town  that  is 
tainted  by  unbelievers." 

"To-morrow  I  shall  fall  at  his  feet,  and  he 
will  have  me  supplied  with  provisions  and 
fodder." 

"Ha!  If  you  really  belong  to  the  tribe  of 
Dangali  perhaps  you  may  be  admitted  to  his 
presence.  But  you  must  know  that  his  house 
is  guarded  night  and  day  by  a  hundred  men 
armed  with  scourges,  who  do  not  spare  their 
blows  on  those  who  attempt  to  reach  the  Mahdi 
without  permission.  Otherwise  the  people 
would  not  give  the  holy  man  a  minute's 
peace." 

"Allah!  I  myself  have  seen  Dangalis  with 
bloody  stripes  on  their  backs." 

Every  minute  Idris'  disappointment  in- 
creased. 

"So  the  believers,"  he  asked,  "can  not  see  the 
prophet  ?" 

"The  believers  see  him  daily  at  the  place  of 
prayer,  when  he  kneels  on  a  sheepskin  and 
raises  his  hands  to  God,  or  when  he  teaches  the 
people  and  strengthens  them  in  their  faith.  But 
it  is  very  difficult  to  be  admitted  to  his  pres- 
ence and  to  talk  to  him,  and  whoever  is  allowed 
this  happiness  attracts  the  jealousy  of  every 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     161 

one  else,  for  upon  him  God's  grace  descends, 
blotting  out  his  past  sins." 

Now  suddenly  it  grew  dark,  and  became 
piercing  cold.  In  the  ranks  of  the  caravan  the 
horses  could  be  heard  neighing,  and  the  sudden 
change  from  the  heat  of  the  day  to  the  cold 
was  so  great  that  the  steam  arose  from  the 
horses,  and  the  party  rode  as  through  a  mist. 
Stasch  leaned  over  behind  Idris'  back  toward 
Nell  and  asked : 

"Are  you  not  cold?" 

"No,"  answered  the  girl,  "but — there  will 
be  no  one  to  protect  us " 

Tears  drowned  the  rest  of  the  sentence. 

Stasch  was  unable  to  find  words  to  comfort 
her,  for  he  felt  convinced  that  they  would  not 
regain  their  freedom.  They  were  now  in  a  land 
of  misery,  of  bestial  cruelty,  and  of  bloodshed. 
They  were  like  two  miserable  little  leaves  in  the 
midst  of  a  storm,  which  not  only  brought  death 
and  destruction  to  individuals,  but  to  whole 
towns  and  tribes.  What  hand  could  save  two 
small,  helpless  children? 

The  moon  slowly  arose  in  the  heavens  and 
turned  the  branches  of  the  mimosas  and  acacias 
into  silver  feathers.  In  the  thick  jungles 
sounded  the  shrill,  joyous  laughter  of  the 
hyenas,  who  in  this  bloodthirsty  stretch  of  land 
found  more  human  corpses  than  they  could  de- 
vour. From  time  to  time  the  division  which 
led  the  caravan  met  other  patrols  and  ex- 
changed the  arranged  password  with  them.    At 


162     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

last  they  climbed  down  the  high  banks  and 
reached  the  Nile  through  a  long  ravine.  The 
people,  horses,  and  camels  were  shipped  on 
large  barges,  and  soon  the  measured  sweep  of 
the  heavy  oars  cut  the  smooth  surface  of  the 
water,  illuminated  by  the  light  of  the  myriad 
stars. 

Half  an  hour  later  lights  could  be  seen  on 
the  southern  side,  toward  which  the  boats  were 
steering,  and  the  nearer  they  approached  this 
cluster  of  lights,  the  more  brilliant  was  the  red 
glow  reflected  on  the  water.  Nur-el-Tadhil 
nudged  Idris,  then  pointed  with  his  hand  and 
said: 

"Khartum!" 

They  halted  at  the  farther  end  of  the  town, 
in  front  of  a  house  which  formerly  belonged  to 
a  rich  Italian  merchant,  who  had  been  killed 
during  the  attack  on  the  town,  and  afterward, 
when  the  spoils  were  divided,  the  house  had 
fallen  to  Tadhil's  share.  The  wives  of  the 
emir  were  gentle  and  kind  to  Nell,  who  was 
nearly  dead  from  fatigue,  and  although  food 
was  very  scarce  in  Khartum,  they  found  a  few 
dried  dates  and  some  rice  and  honey  for  the 
little  one;  then  they  led  the  child  to  the  top 
floor  and  put  her  to  bed.  Stasch,  who  spent 
the  night  in  the  open  between  the  camels  and 
horses,  had  to  content  himself  with  a  zwieback, 
but  he  had  plenty  of  water,  for  strange  to  say 
the  fountain  in  the  garden  had  not  been  de- 
stroyed.   Although  he  was  very  tired,  he  could 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     163 

not  get  to  sleep  for  a  long  while.  He  was  kept 
awake  by  the  scorpions,  which  crept  all  night 
over  the  cloth  rug  on  which  he  lay,  and  then 
again  because  he  was  deathly  afraid  that  he 
might  be  separated  from  Nell  and  not  be  able 
to  watch  over  her  any  longer.  Saba,  who  con- 
tinually sniffed  around,  and  howled  from  time 
to  time,  annoying  the  soldiers,  seemed  to  be 
equally  worried.  Stasch  quieted  him  as  best 
he  could,  fearing  that  some  one  might  harm 
him.  The  enormous  creature,  however,  was 
greatly  admired  by  the  emir  and  by  all  the  Der- 
vishes, and  no  one  would  have  attempted  to 
injure  him  in  any  way. 

Nor  did  Idris  sleep.  He  had  felt  indisposed 
all  day,  and  besides  this,  after  his  talk  with 
Nur-el-Tadhil  many  of  his  illusions  had  been 
dispelled,  and  he  saw  the  future  now  as  through 
a  dark  veil.  He  was  glad  that  on  the  morrow 
they  were  to  travel  on  to  Omdurman,  which  is 
only  separated  from  Khartum  by  the  White 
Nile.  He  hoped  to  find  Smain,  but  what  then? 
During  the  journey  everything  had  looked 
clear  and  distinct  and  so  much  grander  to  him. 
He  frankly  believed  in  the  prophet,  and  his 
heart  was  drawn  more  toward  him  because  they 
both  belonged  to  the  same  tribe.  But,  like  most 
Arabs,  he  was  also  greedy  for  gain,  and  am- 
bitious. He  had  imagined  that  he  would  be 
deluged  with  gold,  and  that  he  would  at  least 
be  made  an  emir,  and  dreamed  of  campaigns 
against  the  "Turks,"  of  captured  towns,  and 


164     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

spoils.  But  now,  from  what  Tadhil  had  told 
him,  he  began  to  fear  that  on  account  of  ex- 
ceedingly important  events  that  had  taken 
place,  his  deeds  would  disappear  like  rain  in  the 
ocean.  "Perhaps,"  he  thought  with  bitter  re- 
gret, "scarcely  any  one  will  pay  any  attention 
to  what  I  have  done,  and  Smain  will  not  even 
be  grateful  that  I  have  brought  him  these  chil- 
dren." This  thought  vexed  him.  The  ap- 
proaching day  would  decide  whether  or  not  his 
fears  were  well  founded,  and  he  waited  for  it 
impatiently. 

At  six  o'clock  the  sun  rose,  and  the  Dervishes 
began  to  bestir  themselves.  Shortly  after  Tad- 
hil appeared  and  ordered  them  to  get  readj?-  to 
depart.  He  told  them  also  that  until  they 
reached  the  place  where  they  crossed  the  river 
thej^  would  have  to  walk  alongside  of  his  horse. 

To  Stasch's  great  joy,  Dinah  brought  Nell 
down  from  the  top  floor;  then  they  went 
through  the  whole  town,  following  the  wall, 
until  they  came  to  the  place  where  their  trans- 
ports were  moored.  Tadhil  rode  in  front,  and 
behind  him  came  Stasch  leading  Nell  by  the 
hand ;  they  were  followed  by  Idris,  Gebhr,  and 
Chamis,  old  Dinah  and  Saba  and  thirty  of  the 
emir's  soldiers.  The  rest  of  the  caravan  re- 
mained in  Khartum. 

Stasch  looked  around  with  interest.  He 
could  not  understand  how  such  a  strongly  for- 
tified town — which  lay  in  a  fork  made  by  the 
White  Nile  and  the  Blue  Nile,  and  therefore 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     165 

surrounded  on  three  sides  by  water,  and  only 
accessible  from  the  south — could  fall.  But 
later  the  Christian  slaves  told  him  that  the 
water  in  the  river  at  that  time  was  so  low  that 
wide  plains  of  sand  were  laid  bare,  and  this 
made  the  walls  much  more  accessible.  The 
garrison  had  given  up  all  hope  of  succor;  the 
soldiers,  exhausted  by  hunger,  were  unable  to 
stem  the  rush  of  the  angry  tribes,  and  so  the 
town  was  captured  and  the  inhabitants  slain. 
Although  a  month  had  passed  since  the  in- 
vasion, traces  of  the  figlit  could  be  seen  all 
along  the  wall,  on  the  inside  of  which  towered 
ruined  houses,  which  were  the  objects  of  the 
conquerors'  first  onslaught,  and  the  moat  run- 
ning around  the  fortress  was  choked  with 
corpses,  which  no  one  seemed  inclined  to 
bury. 

On  their  way  to  the  river-crossing  Stasch 
counted  more  than  four  hundred  bodies,  which 
the  Sudanese  sun  had  dried  up  like  mummies. 
They  were  all  the  color  of  gray  parchment,  so 
that  one  could  not  distinguish  which  were 
Europeans,  Egyptians,  or  negroes.  Among 
the  corpses  moved  numbers  of  small  gray  liz- 
ards, which  on  the  approach  of  the  caravan 
quickly  flitted  behind  the  human  remains,  tak- 
ing refuge  either  in  a  mouth  or  between  the 
shriveled  ribs. 

Stasch  managed  to  prevent  Nell  seeing  all 
of  this  terrible  sight,  and  succeeded  in  direct- 
ing her  attention  the  other  way,  toward  the 


166     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

town.  But  even  there  were  scenes  that  filled 
the  eyes  and  heart  of  the  girl  with  horror. 

The  sight  of  the  captured  English  children 
and  of  Saba,  who  was  led  on  a  leash  by  Chamis, 
attracted  a  crowd  that  increased  every  minute 
as  the  party  approached  the  river-crossing. 
After  a  while  such  a  mob  collected  that  the 
party  had  to  stop.  On  all  sides  threatening 
cries  were  heard.  Terrible  tattooed  faces  bent 
over  Stasch  and  Nell.  Most  of  the  savages 
burst  out  laughing  in  derision  when  they  saw 
them,  beating  their  sides  with  joy;  some  cursed 
them,  and  others  roared  like  wild  beasts  as 
they  showed  their  white  teeth  and  rolled  their 
eyes.  At  last  they  began  to  threaten  them  and 
to  brandish  knives.  Nell,  half  fainting  from 
fright,  clung  close  to  Stasch,  and  he  protected 
her  as  best  he  could,  firmly  convinced  that  their 
last  hour  had  come.  Fortunately  Tadhil  could 
no  longer  stand  the  angry  crowd,  and  at  his 
command  some  soldiers  surrounded  the  chil- 
dren, while  others  began  to  beat  the  howling 
mob  most  mercilessly  with  scourges.  Those 
in  front  dispersed,  but  still  a  great  crowd  fol- 
lowed the  party  with  savage  yells  until  they 
had  boarded  the  boats. 

The  children  breathed  freely  again  while 
crossing  the  river.  Stasch  consoled  Nell  by 
telling  her  that  when  the  Dervishes  became  ac- 
customed to  seeing  them  they  would  cease  to 
threaten  them,  and  he  assured  her  that  Smain 
would  protect  and  defend  them  both,  and  espe- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     167 

cially  her,  for  if  anything  serious  were  to 
happen  to  them  he  would  have  no  one  to  ex- 
change for  his  own  children.  That  was  true, 
but  the  attacks  they  had  just  encountered  so 
terrified  the  girl  that  she  seized  Stasch's  hand 
and  would  not  let  go  of  it  for  a  second ;  at  the 
same  time  she  cried  out  over  and  over  again  in 
a  feverish  way,  "I'm  afraid!  I'm  afraid!" 
Stasch  wished  with  all  his  heart  that  they  would 
reach  Smain  as  soon  as  possible,  for  he  had 
known  them  for  some  time  and  had  been  very 
friendly  to  them  in  Port  Said,  or  at  least 
had  feigned  to  be.  At  any  rate,  he  was  not  so 
savage  as  the  other  Sudanese  and  Dangalis, 
and  captivity  in  his  house  would  be  more  en- 
durable than  this. 

He  wondered  if  Smain  were  known  in  Om- 
durman.  Idris  broached  the  subject  to  Nur- 
el-Tadhil,  and  the  latter  at  last  remembered 
that  a  year  before,  through  orders  given  by 
Calif  Abdullah,  who  lived  in  Kordofan,  quite 
a  distance  from  Khartum,  he  had  heard  of  a 
person  of  that  name.  This  Smain  had  taught 
the  Dervishes  how  to  fire  the  cannon  captured 
from  the  Egyptians,  and  later  had  become  a 
great  slave-hunter.  He  gave  Idris  the  follow- 
ing instructions  in  regard  to  seeing  the  emir : 

"When  you  hear  the  sound  of  the  umbaja^ 
in  the  afternoon,  be  with  the  children  at  the 
place  of  prayer,  where  the  prophet  goes  daily 
to  inspire  the  faithful  with  an  example  of  piety 

'  A  large  trumpet  made  of  an  elephant's  tusk. 


168     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  to  strengthen  their  belief.  There  you  will 
see  the  Mahdi  himself  and  all  the  nobles,  also 
the  three  califs,  the  pashas,  and  the  emirs,  and 
among  the  emirs  you  can  surely  pick  out 
Smain." 

"What  shall  I  do  and  where  shall  I  go  until 
the  time  for  afternoon  prayers?" 

"You  will  remain  with  my  soldiers." 
"And  you,  Nur-el-Tadhil,  will  you  leave  us?'* 
"I  must  go  to  Calif  Abdullah  for  my  orders." 
"Is  he  the  greatest  of  the  Califs?    I  come 
from  a  distance,  and  although  I  have  been  told 
the  names  of  the  leaders,  I  would  welcome  fur- 
ther information  regarding  them." 

"Abdullah,  my  leader,  is  the  Mahdi's  sword." 
"May  Allah  make  him  the  son  of  victory!" 
For  a  while  the  boats  went  silently  along. 
All  was  still  save  for  the  sliding  of  the  oars 
against  the  thole-pins;  now  and  then  the 
furious  splashing  of  water  lashed  into  foam  by 
the  tails  of  disturbed  crocodiles  was  heard.  Many 
of  these  reptiles  had  come  up  the  river  from 
the  south  as  far  as  Khartum;  here  they  found 
plenty  of  food,  for  the  river  was  strewn  with 
corpses,  the  bodies  of  those  slain  when  the  town 
was  attacked  as  well  as  of  those  who  had  died 
of  the  diseases  that  raged  among  the  Mahdists, 
especially  among  their  slaves.  The  califs  had 
ordered  that  the  water  should  not  be  polluted, 
but  this  had  been  completely  disregarded,  and 
the  bodies  that  the  crocodiles  did  not  deign  to 
touch  floated  face  downward  as  far  as  the  sixth 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     169 

cataract,  and  still  farther,  even  as  far  as  Bar- 
bary. 

But  Idris  was  now  thinking  of  something 
else ;  after  a  while  he  said : 

"We  had  nothing  to  eat  this  morning ;  are  we 
to  go  hungry  till  the  hour  of  prayer,  and  who 
will  supply  us  with  food  later  on?" 

"You  are  not  a  slave,"  answered  Tadhil; 
"you  can  go  to  the  market  where  provisions  are 
sold.  You  can  get  dried  meat  and  perhaps 
some  millet  there,  but  you  will  have  to  pay  a 
high  price,  for,  as  I  have  told  you,  there  is  a 
famine  in  Omdurman." 

"And  during  my  absence  wicked  people 
might  carry  off  the  children  or  kill  them." 

"The  soldiers  will  guard  them;  or  if  you  give 
one  of  them  some  money  he  will  go  and  procure 
food  for  you." 

This  was  not  very  acceptable  advice  to  Idris, 
who  much  preferred  accepting  money  to  giving 
it ;  but  before  he  answered  the  boats  had  landed. 

To  the  children  Omdurman  looked  quite 
different  from  Khartum,  where  there  were 
brick  houses  several  stories  high,  the  "Moo- 
diria"  (the  palace  of  the  governor,  in  which  the 
heroic  Gordon  fell),  a  church,  a  hospital,  mis- 
sion-houses, an  arsenal,  many  military  garri- 
sons, and  a  number  of  large  and  small  gardens 
with  the  plentiful,  luxuriant  vegetation  of  the 
equatorial  districts,  whereas  Omdurman  looked 
more  like  a  camp  of  savages.  The  fortress, 
which  stood  on  the  northern  side  of  the  settle- 


170     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ment,  had  been  destroyed  by  order  of  Gordon. 
As  far  as  could  be  seen  the  town  consisted  only 
of  round,  ball-shaped  huts  of  millet  straw. 
Narrow  hedges  of  thorns  separated  these  little 
houses  from  one  another  and  from  the  street. 
Only  here  and  there  were  tents,  which  seemed 
to  have  been  captured  from  the  Egyptians.  In 
other  places  a  few  palm  mats,  under  a  piece  of 
dirty  canvas  stretched  on  bamboo  rods,  formed 
the  entire  dwelling.  The  inliabitants  took  ref- 
uge within  their  houses  when  it  rained  or  when 
the  heat  was  especially  oppressive ;  but  at  other 
times  they  lived  in  the  open  air,  where  they 
made  their  fires,  cooked  their  food,  and  lived 
and  died.  There  was  so  much  confusion  in  the 
streets  that  in  some  places  the  party  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  passing  through  the 
crowds.  Omdurman  had  formerly  been  a 
wretched  little  village,  but  the  population  was 
now  more  than  twenty  thousand,  including  the 
slaves.  Even  the  Mahdi  and  his  califs  were 
alarmed  that  so  many  people  were  threatened 
with  hunger  and  sickness,  and  expeditions  were 
constantly  sent  northward  to  conquer  the  towns 
and  districts  that  still  remained  loyal  to  the 
Egyptian  Government. 

At  the  sight  of  the  white  children  the  multi- 
tude occasionally  shouted  in  a  menacing  man- 
ner, but  did  not  threaten  them  with  death  as  had 
the  mob  in  Khartum.  Perhaps  the  rabble  did  not 
dare  do  so  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Mahdi, 
or  they  may  have  become  accustomed  to  seeing 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     171 

prisoners,  who  had  all  been  taken  to  Omdur- 
man  when  Khartum  had  fallen.  But  to  Stasch 
and  Nell  it  was  a  hell  on  earth.  They  beheld 
Europeans  and  Egyptians  bleeding  from  whip- 
lashings  on  their  bare  flesh,  and  all  but  starved, 
used  as  beasts  of  burden  and  dying  under  their 
heavy  loads.  They  saw  women  and  children 
of  European  birth,  from  homes  of  ease  and 
comfort — dressed  in  rags  and  lean  as  ghosts, 
whose  white  faces  utter  wretchedness  had 
turned  black — begging  for  a  mouthful  of  dried 
meat  or  a  handful  of  maize,  their  starved,  wild 
demeanor  telling  of  terror  and  despair.  They 
noted  how  the  savages  scoffed  when  they  saw 
these  miserable  prisoners,  and  how  they  were 
pushed  about  and  beaten.  In  every  side  street 
or  little  lane  scenes  were  enacted  from  which 
the  eyes  turned  away  in  horror  and  affright.  In 
Omdurman  a  terrible  epidemic  of  dysentery, 
typhoid,  and  smallpox  prevailed.  The  sick, 
covered  with  sores,  lay  at  the  entrances  of  the 
huts,  polluting  the  air.  The  prisoners  were 
forced  to  drag  through  the  streets  the  canvas- 
shrouded  corpses  of  those  who  had  just  died 
and  inter  them  in  the  sand  outside  of  the  town, 
where  hyenas  attended  to  the  real  burial.  Over 
the  town  hovered  flocks  of  vultures,  whose  lazy- 
flapping  wings  cast  mournful  shadows  on  the 
bright  sand.  When  Stasch  saw  this  he  thought 
that  the  sooner  he  and  Nell  died  the  better  it 
would  be  for  them. 

But  even  in  this  sea  of  misery  and  inhuman- 


172     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ity  deeds  of  kindly  pity  occasionally  blossomed 
like  tiny  pale  flowers  rising  from  a  foul  swamp. 

In  Omdurman  were  a  number  of  Greeks  and 
Copts,  whom  the  Mahdi  had  spared  because  he 
had  use  for  them.  These  men  went  around  not 
only  unmolested,  but  even  carried  on  their  dif- 
ferent avocations,  and  some  of  them,  especially 
those  who  had  made  a  pretense  of  changing  their 
faith,  had  become  officials  of  the  prophet,  which 
made  them  quite  important  in  the  eyes  of  the 
wild  Dervishes.  One  of  these  Greeks  stopped 
the  party  and  began  to  question  the  children, 
asking  where  they  came  from.  When  to  his  great 
surprise  he  heard  that  they  had  been  carried 
off  from  Fayoum  and  had  only  just  arrived, 
he  promised  to  tell  the  Mahdi  about  them  and 
to  inquire  after  them  as  soon  as  practicable.  At 
the  same  time  he  bent  his  head  sorrowfully  over 
Nell  and  gave  each  of  the  children  a  lot  of  wild 
figs  and  a  piece  of  money  of  Marie  Therese 
coinage.  He  then  warned  the  soldiers  against 
harming  the  girl  in  any  way  and  went  off,  say- 
ing in  English,  "Poor  little  bird!" 

After  passing  along  very  tortuous  little 
streets  they  at  last  reached  the  market-place, 
which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  town.  On  the 
way  they  saw  many  people  who  had  had  a  hand 
or  foot  amputated.  These  were  thieves  or  evil- 
doers, who  had  secreted  spoil.  Terrible  punish- 
ments were  meted  out  by  the  califs  and  emirs 
to  those  who  disobeyed  the  laws  of  the  prophet, 
and  even  for  small  transgressions — such,  for  in- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     173 

stance,  as  smoking  tobacco — the  culprits  were 
beaten  until  they  lay  bleeding  and  unconscious. 
But  the  califs  themselves  subscribed  only  out- 
wardly to  the  rules  of  the  prophet,  while  at 
home  they  did  as  they  pleased,  so  that  these 
punishments  fell  only  on  the  poor,  whose  goods 
and  chattels  they  at  the  same  time  confiscated. 
There  was  nothing  left  for  the  miserable  people 
to  do  but  to  beg,  and  as  there  was  great  scarcity 
of  food  in  Omdurman,  they  succumbed  to 
hunger. 

Therefore  there  were  crowds  of  beggars  at 
the  places  where  provisions  were  sold.  The 
first  thing  that  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
children  was  a  head  stuck  on  the  end  of  a  bam- 
boo rod  placed  in  the  center  of  the  round 
marketplace.  The  face  was  shriveled  and 
almost  black,  while  the  hair  and  beard  were 
white  as  milk.  One  of  the  soldiers  told  Idris 
that  this  was  the  head  of  Gordon.  At  this 
Stasch  was  overcome  with  grief,  indignation, 
and  a  burning  desire  for  revenge;  yet  he  was 
so  frightened  that  the  blood  seemed  to  cease 
flowing  in  his  veins.  This  was  the  fate  of  the 
hero,  the  fearless  and  blameless  knight,  the  just 
and  good  man,  who  was  beloved  even  in  Sudan. 
And  the  English,  who  had  not  come  to  his 
assistance  in  time,  but  had  rather  withdrawn 
their  aid,  now  abandoned  his  remains,  exposed 
to  ridicule,  without  giving  them  the  honor  of 
Christian  burial.  From  that  moment  Stasch 
lost  all  faith  in  the  English.    Until  now  he  had 


174     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

naively  believed  that  England,  if  the  least 
wrong  were  done  to  one  of  her  countrymen, 
was  always  ready  to  challenge  the  whole  world. 
Until  now  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  there  had 
always  glimmered  a  ray  of  hope  that,  the  search 
proving  unsuccessful,  English  troops  would 
be  sent  as  far  as  Khartum,  and  even  farther, 
to  protect  Mr.  Rawlison's  daughter.  Now  he 
knew  but  too  well  that  Khartum  and  the  whole 
country  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Mahdi,  and  that 
the  Egyptian  Government,  and  England,  too, 
would  think  rather  of  protecting  themselves 
from  further  attacks  than  of  devising  means 
for  the  release  of  European  prisoners. 

He  realized  that  he  and  Nell  had  fallen  into 
an  abyss  from  which  there  was  no  possible 
means  of  escape,  and  these  thoughts,  in  addition 
to  the  horrors  he  had  witnessed  in  the  streets 
of  Omdurman,  were  the  last  straw.  His  usual 
elasticity  and  energy  were  replaced  by  com- 
plete and  irresistible  submission  to  his  fate  and 
anxiety  for  the  future.  He  gazed  around  almost 
languidly  at  the  market-place  and  the  stands,  at 
which  Idris  was  bargaining  for  food.  Here 
the  street  merchants,  chiefly  Sudanese  women 
and  negresses,  sold  Dschubis  (white  linen 
smocks  with  different  colored  trimmings), 
acacia-rubber,  hollowed-out  bottle-gourds, 
glass  beads,  sulphur,  and  all  kinds  of  mats. 
There  were  benches  where  provisions  were  on 
sale,  and  around  these  a  large  crowd  gathered. 
The  Mahdists  bought  at  high  prices  chiefly 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     175 

pieces  of  dried  meat  of  domestic  animals, 
buffaloes,  antelopes,  and  giraffes.  But  there 
were  absolutely  no  dates,  figs,  or  maize.  Once 
in  a  while  they  sold  water  mixed  with  the  honey 
of  wild  bees  and  millet  seeds  soaked  in  an  in- 
fusion of  tamarinds.  Idris  was  in  despair,  for 
he  saw  that  the  market  prices  were  so  high  that 
he  would  soon  spend  all  the  money  given  him 
by  Fatima  for  provisions,  and  then  he  would 
be  obliged  to  beg.  His  only  hope  now  lay  in 
Smain.  Strangely  enough,  at  this  very  mo- 
ment Stasch,  too,  relied  on  Smain's  help. 

Half  an  hour  later  Nur-el-Tadhil  returned 
from  the  calif.  Apparently  something  dis- 
agreeable had  happened  to  him  there,  for  he 
was  in  a  very  bad  humor,  and  when  Idris  asked 
him  whether  he  had  heard  anything  about 
Smain,  he  answered  him  abruptly: 

"You  fool,  do  you  suppose  that  the  calif  and 
I  have  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  find  Smain 
for  you?" 

"What  do  you  intend  me  to  do  now?" 

"Do  what  you  please.  I  have  allowed  j^ou 
to  spend  the  night  in  my  house,  and  I  have 
given  you  much  good  advice,  and  now  I  do  not 
wish  to  hear  from  you  again." 

"All  right ;  but  where  shall  I  find  shelter  for 
the  night?" 

"That  is  no  affair  of  mine." 

With  these  words  he  departed,  taking  the 
soldiers  with  him.  Idris  could  hardly  beg  him 
to  send  the  caravan  and  the  Arabs  who  had 


176     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

joined  them  between  Assuan  and  Wadi  Haifa, 
to  him  in  the  market-place.  These  people  had 
only  arrived  at  mid-daj^  and  then  it  was  evident 
that  none  of  them  knew  what  to  do.  The  two  Su- 
danese began  to  quarrel  with  Idris  and  Gebhr, 
declaring  that  they  had  imagined  that  they 
would  have  a  verj^  different  reception,  and  that 
they  had  purposely  been  deceived.  After 
lengthy  discussions  and  consultations  they  de- 
cided to  erect  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  tents 
of  fir  branches  and  bamboo,  in  which  to  seek 
shelter  for  the  night,  and  then  to  wait  and  leave 
the  rest  to  Providence. 

When  they  had  finished  the  tents,  which  did 
not  take  long  to  build,  all  the  Sudanese  and 
negroes,  except  Chamis,  who  was  to  prepare 
the  evening  meal,  went  off  to  the  public  place 
of  praj^er.  It  was  easy  to  find,  for  crowds  from 
all  sections  of  Omdurman  were  going  there. 
The  place  was  spacious,  bordered  by  a  hedge  of 
thorns  and  partly  by  a  clay  wall,  which  had 
just  been  commenced.  In  the  center  was  a 
wooden  platform,  on  which  the  prophet  stood 
while  instructing  the  people.  On  the  ground, 
in  front  of  the  tribune,  sheepskins  were  spread 
out  for  the  Mahdi,  the  calif,  and  the  more  im- 
portant sheiks.  At  the  sides  the  flags  of  the 
Empire  were  hoisted.  The  banners  fluttered 
in  the  wind  and  shone  like  large  variegated 
flowers.  The  four  sides  of  the  place  were 
lined  with  crowded  rows  of  Dervishes.  All 
around    could    be   seen    towering    forests    of 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     177 

spears,  with  which  nearly  all  the  warriors  were 
armed. 

It  was  lucky  for  Idris  and  Gebhr,  as  well  as 
for  the  rest  of  the  caravan,  that  they  were  con- 
sidered followers  of  one  of  the  emirs,  and  there- 
fore could  get  in  the  front  ranks  of  the  crowd. 
The  arrival  of  the  Mahdi  was  first  announced 
by  the  far-reaching  and  solemn  umbaja,  and 
when  he  appeared  sharp  whistles,  the  beating 
of  drums,  the  clattering  of  stones  shaken  in 
empty  bottle-gourds,  rang  out,  all  combining  in 
a  most  infernal  racket.  The  people  were  beside 
themselves  with  enthusiasm.  Some  fell  on  their 
knees,  others  cried  out  as  loud  as  they  could, 
"Oh,  you  are  sent  from  God!"  "Oh,  victorious 
onel"  "Oh,  merciful  one!"  "Oh,  pitying  one!" 
and  kindred  exclamations,  that  lasted  until  the 
Mahdi  stepped  into  the  pulpit.  Then  amid 
dead  silence  he  raised  his  hands,  put  his  thumbs 
in  his  ears,  and  prayed  for  a  while.  The  chil- 
dren stood  quite  near  and  could  see  him  very 
well.  He  was  a  man  of  middle  age,  singularly 
corpulent  and  bloated,  and  nearly  black. 
Stasch,  who  was  an  especially  quick  observer, 
noticed  that  his  face  was  tattooed  and  that 
he  wore  a  large  ivory  ring  in  one  ear.  He 
was  dressed  in  a  white  coat  and  had  a  white 
cap  on  his  head;  his  feet  were  bare,  for  before 
he  mounted  the  pulpit  he  had  removed  his  red 
half-high  shoes  and  left  them  on  the  sheepskins, 
where  he  was  afterward  going  to  pray.  There 
was  not   the  least  attempt  at  luxury  in  his 


178     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

dress,  but  occasionally  the  wind  blew  a  strong 
and  pleasing  odor  of  sandalwood^  from  him, 
which  the  believers  greedily  sniffed  up  their 
noses,  at  the  same  time  rolling  their  eyes  with 
delight.  Stasch  had  imagined  the  terrible 
prophet,  the  robber  and  murderer  of  so  many 
thousands,  to  be  quite  a  different  looking  per- 
son, and  whilst  gazing  at  this  fat  face  with  its 
mild  expression  and  tearful  eyes,  and  with  a 
smile  constantly  hovering  about  the  lips,  he 
could  not  conceal  his  surprise.  He  thought 
that  such  a  man  would  have  the  head  of  a  hyena 
or  a  crocodile,  but  instead  he  saw  before  him  a 
fat-cheeked  gourd  with  a  face  like  a  full  moon. 
The  prophet  began  his  teaching.  His  deep 
and  ringing  voice  could  be  heard  over  all  the 
place,  so  that  every  word  reached  the  ears  of 
the  believers.  He  now  spoke  of  the  punish- 
ments inflicted  by  God  on  those  who  do  not 
follow  the  laws  of  the  Mahdi,  but  instead  con- 
ceal spoil,  get  drunk,  steal,  spare  the  enemy  in 
war,  and  smoke  tobacco.  These  crimes,  he  said, 
would  result  in  Allah's  sending  down  upon 
such  sinners  hunger  and  that  sickness  which 
honeycombs  the  face.^  This  earthly  life  is  like 
a  vessel  with  a  hole  in  it.  Riches  and  pleasures 
sink  in  the  sand.  True  belief  is  like  a  cow 
that  gives  sweet  milk.  But  Paradise  is  open 
to  the  victor  only.  Those  who  conquer  the 
enemy  will  gain  salvation.    Those  who  die  for 

■In  the  Orient  they  prepare  a  scented  oil  from  sandalwood. 
'The  smallpox. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     179 

the  faith  will  live  forever  and  ever.  Happy, 
a  hundred  times  happy,  are  those  who  have 
already  fallen " 

"We  will  die  for  the  faith!"  cried  the  people 
in  a  loud  voice. 

Soon  after  the  infernal  noise  began  again. 
Trumpets  and  drums  resounded.  The  warriors 
beat  sword  against  sword  and  spear  against 
spear.  The  warlike  enthusiasm  seized  every 
one  like  a  flame.  Some  cried  out,  "The  faith 
is  victory!"  Others,  "By  death  to  Paradise!" 
Then  Stasch  understood  why  the  Egyptian 
soldiers  could  not  resist  these  wild  tribes. 

When  quiet  was  somewhat  restored  the 
prophet  began  to  speak  again.  He  told  of  the 
visions  he  frequently  had  and  about  the  mission 
he  had  received  from  God.  Allah  had  com- 
manded him  to  purify  the  faith  and  to  spread 
it  over  the  whole  world.  And  he  said  that  any 
one  not  recognizing  him  as  the  Mahdi,  the 
saviour,  would  be  condemned  to  destruction. 
The  end  of  the  world  is  near,  but  before  it 
comes  it  is  the  duty  of  the  believers  to  conquer 
Egj^pt,  Mecca,  and  all  the  lands  on  the  other 
side  of  the  sea,  where  the  heathen  dwell.  That 
is  the  will  of  God,  and  nothing  can  change  it. 
Much  blood  will  still  be  shed,  many  warriors 
will  not  return  to  their  wives  and  children  in 
their  tents,  but  no  human  tongue  can  portray 
the  happiness  of  those  who  fall  in  the  cause. 

Then  he  stretched  out  his  hands  toward  the 
assembled  multitude,  and  closing,  said: 


180     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I,  the  saviour,  and  servant  of  God,  bless 
the  holy  war  and  you  warriors.  I  bless  your 
fatigue,  your  wounds,  your  death.  I  bless  the 
victory,  and  mourn  for  you  as  a  father  who 
loves  you." 

He  burst  into  tears.  When  he  left  the  pul- 
pit screams  and  wailing  rent  the  air.  Every 
one  wept.  The  two  califs,  Abdullah  and  Ali- 
uled-Helu,  gave  their  arms  to  the  Mahdi  to 
support  him,  and  led  him  to  the  sheepskin,  on 
which  he  knelt.  During  this  short  moment 
Idris  feverishly  asked  Stasch  whether  Smain 
was  not  among  the  emirs. 

"No!"  replied  the  boy,  who  with  his  sharp 
eyes  had  searched  in  vain  for  the  well-known 
face.  "I  can  not  see  him  anywhere.  Perhaps 
he  fell  in  the  attack  on  Khartum." 

Nor  could  Chamis,  who  had  known  Smain 
in  Port  Said,  find  him.  The  prayers  lasted  a 
long  while.  The  Mahdi  moved  his  hands  and 
legs  like  a  circus-clown,  then  raised  his  eyes  in 
ecstasy,  while  repeating:  "There  is  God  I 
There  he  is!"  And  as  the  sun  was  about  to  set 
he  arose  and  walked  homeward. 

The  children  now  saw  with  what  reverence 
the  Dervishes  surrounded  their  prophet,  for 
crowds  followed  his  footsteps  and  scraped  up 
the  earth  on  which  he  had  trodden.  This  led  to 
quarrels  and  fights,  for  the  people  believed  that 
this  earth  would  secure  health  to  the  well  and 
also  cure  the  sick.  Gradually  the  crowd  left 
the  place  of  prayer.    Idris  did  not  know  what 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     181 

was  best  to  do,  and  he  had  just  decided  to  re- 
turn to  the  tents  for  the  night  with  the  chil- 
dren and  all  the  baggage,  when  the  same  Greek 
who  had  given  Stasch  and  Nell  the  dates  and 
coin  that  morning  stood  before  them. 

"I  have  spoken  to  the  Mahdi  about  you,"  he 
said  in  Arabic,  "and  the  prophet  wishes  to  see 
you." 

"Thanks  to  Allah  and  to  you,  sir!"  cried 
Idris.  "Shall  we  find  Smain  again  by  the 
Mahdi's  side?" 

"Smain  is  in  Fashoda,"  answered  the  Greek. 
Then  he  said  to  Stasch  in  English: 

"Perhaps  the  prophet  will  take  you  under 
his  protection,  for  I  have  done  my  best  to  get 
him  to  do  so.  I  told  him  that  the  fame  of  his 
mercy  would  spread  abroad  throughout  all  the 
white  nations.  Terrible  things  are  happening 
all  around  us,  and  unless  you  are  under  his 
protection  you  will  surely  succumb  to  hunger, 
privation,  and  sickness  from  the  treatment  you 
will  receive  at  the  hands  of  these  madmen.  But 
he  must  be  kept  interested  in  you." 

"What  shall  I  do,  sir?"  asked  Stasch. 

"When  you  first  come  into  his  presence,  fall 
on  your  knees,  and  when  he  gives  you  his  hand, 
kiss  it  respectfully  and  beseech  him  to  take  you 
both  under  his  protecting  wing." 

Here  the  Greek  stopped  and  asked : 

"Do  none  of  these  people  understand  Eng- 
lish?" 

"No.    Chamis  has  remained  in  the  tent,  and 


182     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Idris  and  Gebhr  only  understand  a  few  words, 
and  the  others  not  a  word." 

"That's  well.  Listen  to  what  I  say,  for 
everything  must  be  planned  in  advance.  The 
Mahdi  will  ask  you  whether  j'^ou  are  prepared 
to  accept  his  faith.  Immediately  answer  that 
you  are  prepared,  and  that  his  presence  had 
from  the  first  shed  a  peculiar  light  of  grace 
upon  you.  Remember,  a  peculiar  light  of 
grace!  That  will  flatter  him  and  he  will  in- 
clude you  among  his  personal  servants.  Then 
you  will  have  luxuries  and  every  comfort,  which 
will  prevent  you  from  becoming  ill.  But  if  you 
act  differently  you  will  endanger  yourself  and 
this  poor  little  thing,  and  also  me,  the  one  who 
wishes  you  well.     Do  you  understand?" 

Stasch  clenched  his  teeth  and  made  no  an- 
swer, but  his  face  became  rigid  and  his  eyes 
had  a  strange  light  in  them.  The  Greek, 
noticing  this,  continued: 

"My  boy,  I  know  that  this  is  a  disagreeable 
matter,  but  there  is  nothing  else  to  be  done! 
All  those  who  were  spared  after  the  bloody 
massacre  in  Khartum  have  accepted  the  faith 
of  the  Mahdi.  The  Catholic  missionaries  and 
nuns  did  not  accept  it,  but  that  is  a  different 
matter.  The  Koran  forbids  the  murdering  of 
priests,  and  although  their  fate  is  terrible 
enough,  yet  at  least  they  are  not  threatened 
with  death.  But  for  people  of  other  classes 
that  was  the  only  means  of  escape.  I  repeat, 
every    one    accepted    Mohammedanism — the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     183 

Germans,  Italians,  Copts,  English,  Greeks — 
even  I  myself." 

And  although  Stasch  had  assured  him  that 
not  one  in  the  caravan  understood  English,  his 
voice  sank  to  a  whisper : 

"I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  that  this  step  does 
not  mean  a  denial  of  the  Faith  or  treason  or 
apostasy.  In  his  soul  each  one  remains  what 
he  was  before,  and  God  knows  this.  One  must 
bend  to  power,  if  only  apparently.  It  is  a 
man's  duty  to  defend  his  life,  and  it  would  be 
madness,  yes,  even  sin,  to  endanger  it — and 
for  what  reason?  For  the  mere  sake  of  appear- 
ances, for  the  sake  of  a  few  words  spoken, 
which  even  when  you  utter  them  you  can  in- 
wardly deny.  Besides,  remember  in  your  hands 
lies  not  only  your  own  life,  but  also  the  life  of 
your  little  companion,  whose  fate  you  have  no 
right  to  decide.  I  assure  you  that  when  the  time 
comes  for  God  to  deliver  you  from  the  hands 
of  these  people,  you  will  have  nothing  with 
which  to  reproach  yourself,  and  no  one  will  re- 
proach you — no  more  than  any  of  us " 

While  the  Greek  talked  to  the  boy  in  this 
way,  perhaps  he  deceived  his  own  conscience, 
but  Stasch's  silence  also  deceived  him,  for  he  at 
last  mistook  it  for  fear.  So  he  tried  to  encour- 
age the  boy. 

"These  are  the  houses  of  the  Mahdi,"  he  said. 
"He  prefers  staying  in  these  wooden  huts  here 
in  Omdurman  rather  than  to  live  in  Khartum, 
although  he  could  have  taken  possession  of 


184     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Gordon's  palace.  Keep  up  your  courage! 
Don't  lose  your  head!  Answer  all  questions 
promptly  and  with  decision.  Here  they  ad- 
mire every  form  of  courage.  Don't  imagine 
that  the  Mahdi  will  roar  at  you  like  a  lion.  No ! 
He  always  smiles — even  when  he  does  not  con- 
template any  good  deeds." 

As  he  spoke  these  words  he  called  to  the 
crowd  standing  before  the  house  to  make  room 
for  the  "guests"  of  the  prophet. 


CHAPTER   XV 

WHEN  they  entered  the  room  they  saw  the 
Mahdi  lying  on  a  soft  couch,  surrounded 
by  his  wives,  two  of  whom  were  fanning  him 
with  large  ostrich  feathers.  No  one  else  was 
with  him  except  Calif  Abdullah  and  Calif 
Sherif ;  for  the  third  calif,  Ali-uled-Helu,  was 
at  tliis  time  forwarding  soldiers  to  the  north, 
to  Barbary,  and  to  Abu  Hammed,  places 
already  captured  by  the  Dervishes.  When  the 
prophet  saw  the  newcomers  he  pushed  aside 
the  women  and  sat  up  on  the  couch.  Idris, 
Gebhr,  and  the  two  Bedouins  fell  on  their  faces 
and  then  knelt  with  their  hands  on  their  chests. 
The  Greek  made  a  sign  to  Stasch  to  do  the 
same,  but  the  boy  pretended  not  to  see  this ;  he 
merely  bowed,  and  remained  standing.  His 
face  had  become  pale,  but  his  eyes  shone 
brightly,  and  from  his  whole  appearance — the 
proud  way  he  held  up  his  head  and  his  com- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      185 

pressed  lips — it  could  readily  be  seen  that  some- 
thing was  uppermost  in  his  mind,  that  he  was 
no  longer  undecided  and  frightened,  but  that 
he  had  made  a  firm  resolution,  which  nothing  in 
the  world  could  tempt  him  to  break.  The 
Greek  seemed  to  comprehend  the  situation,  for 
his  face  wore  a  very  anxious  expression.  The 
Mahdi  took  in  both  children  at  a  quick  glance, 
and  his  fat  face  lighted  up  with  its  customary 
smile;  then  turning  to  Idris  and  to  Gebhr,  he 
asked : 

"You  have  come  from  the  far  north?" 

Idris  touched  the  floor  with  his  forehead. 

"It  is  so,  oh  Madhi !  We  belong  to  the  Dan- 
gali  tribe,  and  therefore  we  have  left  our  homes 
in  Fayoum  in  order  to  come  and  kneel  down 
before  your  blessed  feet." 

"I  saw  you  in  the  desert.  It  is  a  terrible 
road,  but  I  sent  an  angel,  who  watched  over 
you  and  protected  you  from  death  at  the  hands 
of  unbelievers.  You  did  not  see  him,  but  he 
was  there  watching  over  you." 

"We  thank  thee,  saviour." 

"And  so  you  have  brought  the  children  for 
Smain,  to  enable  him  to  exchange  them  for  his 
own  offspring,  whom  the  Turks  are  detaining 
together  with  Fatima  in  Port  Said." 

"You  only  will  we  serve!" 

"He  who  serves  me  works  out  his  own  salva- 
tion, and  thereby  you  open  the  way  to  Para- 
dise for  yourselves.  Fatima  is  my  relative. 
But  let  me  tell  you  that  when  I  conquer  the 


186     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

whole  of  Egypt,  then  my  relatives  and  their 
successors  will  obtain  their  freedom." 

"Then,  oh  blessed  one,  do  what  you  wish  with 
the  children!" 

The  Mahdi  half  closed  his  eyelids,  opened 
them  again,  smiled  good-naturedly,  and  beck- 
oned to  Stasch. 

"Come  nearer,  boy!" 

Stasch  advanced  with  an  energetic,  soldier- 
like step,  bowed  for  the  second  time,  then 
straightened  up  stiff  as  the  string  of  a  bow 
and  waited,  looking  directly  into  the  eyes  of  the 
Mahdi. 

"Peace  be  with  you!  Are  you  pleased  to 
come  to  us?" 

"No,  prophet!  We  were  carried  away  from 
our  fathers  against  our  wills." 

This  frank  answer  created  a  sensation  not 
only  for  the  ruler,  who  was  accustomed  to  being 
flattered,  but  on  the  others  present  as  well. 
Calif  Abdullah  frowned,  the  Greek  bit  his  lips 
and  began  to  twist  his  fingers;  but  the  Mahdi 
never  ceased  smiling. 

"But,"  he  said,  "on  the  other  hand,  you  are 
now  at  the  fountain  of  truth.  Will  you  drink 
at  this  source?" 

A  short  silence  ensued,  and  the  Mahdi,  think- 
ing that  the  boy  had  not  understood  the  ques- 
tion, repeated  it  more  plainly. 

"Will  you  accept  my  teaching?" 

Whereupon  Stasch,  with  the  hand  that  he 
held  to  his  breast,  without  attracting  attention. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      187 

managed  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  just 
as  though  he  were  going  to  spring  from  a  sink- 
ing ship  into  deep  water. 

"Prophet,"  he  said,  "I  am  not  famihar  with 
your  teaching,  so  if  I  were  to  accept  it  I  should 
do  so  only  from  fear,  like  cowards  and  base 
persons,  and  do  you  wish  cowards  and  base 
persons  to  accept  your  faith?" 

While  he  was  speaking  he  continued  to  look 
the  Mahdi  unflinchingly  in  the  eye.  The  silence 
that  ensued  was  so  great  that  the  buzzing  of 
the  bees  could  be  heard.  Besides  this,  some- 
thing very  unusual  happened.  The  Mahdi  was 
embarrassed  for  a  moment  and  could  not  think 
what  reply  to  make.  Stretching  out  his  hand, 
he  grasped  a  bottle-gourd  filled  with  water  and 
honey  and  began  to  drink,  but  evidently  only 
to  gain  time  and  to  hide  his  embarrassment. 

And  the  brave  boy,  a  true  descendant  of  the 
defenders  of  Christianity,  stood  with  his  head 
erect  awaiting  his  sentence.  On  his  sunken 
cheek,  tanned  by  the  desert  wind,  there  was  now 
a  tinge  of  pink,  his  eyes  shone  brightly,  and  a 
thrill  of  exaltation  passed  through  his  delicate 
body.  "Every  one,"  he  thought,  "has  accepted 
his  teaching,  but  I  have  neither  renounced  my 
Faith  nor  sacrificed  my  soul."  And  the  fear  of 
what  might  happen  and  would  happen  re- 
mained buried  in  his  breast,  and  he  was  filled 
with  joy  and  pride.  Then  the  Mahdi,  putting 
down  the  bottle-gourd,  asked: 

"So  you  refuse  to  accept  my  teaching?" 


188     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

*'I  am  what  my  father  is — a  Christian!" 

"Whosoever  closes  his  ears  to  the  heavenly 
voice,"  said  the  Mahdi  slowly,  and  in  a  changed 
tone  of  voice,  "is  nothing  more  than  wood,  to 
be  cast  into  the  fire." 

Calif  Abdullah,  who  was  known  for  his 
severity  and  cruelty,  showed  his  white  teeth 
like  a  wild  animal  and  said: 

"This  boy's  answers  are  rude;  therefore,  sir, 
punish  him,  or  permit  me  to  do  so." 

"All  is  over,"  thought  Stasch  to  himself. 

But  the  Mahdi,  who  was  always  desirous  that 
the  fame  of  his  mercy  might  spread  not  only 
among  the  Dervishes,  but  throughout  the  whole 
world,  thought  that  too  severe  a  sentence,  espe- 
cially against  a  small  boy,  might  be  bad  for  his 
reputation.  For  a  while  he  passed  the  glass 
beads  of  the  rosary  between  his  fingers,  and 
then  said: 

"No;  these  children  were  carried  off  on 
Smain's  account;  therefore,  though  I  have 
nothing  to  do  with  unbelievers,  they  must  be 
sent  to  Smain.     This  is  my  wish!" 

"It  shall  be  done,"  answered  the  Calif. 

Then  the  Mahdi  pointed  to  Idris,  Gebhr,  and 
the  Bedouins. 

"These  people,  O  Abdullah,  you  must  re- 
ward in  my  name,  for  they  have  completed  a 
long  and  dangerous  journey  in  order  to  serve 
God  and  myself." 

Then  he  nodded  as  a  sign  that  the  audience 
was  at  an  end,  and  in  like  manner  he  ordered 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     189 

the  Greek  to  leave  him.  When  the  latter 
reached  the  place  of  prayer,  which  was  now 
dark,  he  took  hold  of  Stasch  by  the  arm 
and  vented  his  rage  and  despair  by  shaking 
him. 

"Cursed  one!  You  have  endangered  the  life 
of  this  innocent  child,"  he  said,  pointing  to 
Nell.  "You  have  ruined  yourself  and  perhaps 
Nell,  too." 

"I  could  not  act  otherwise,"  answered 
Stasch. 

"You  could  not!  Remember  that  you  are 
about  to  take  a  second  journey,  which  will  be 
a  hundred  times  worse  than  the  first.  It  means 
death —  Do  you  understand?  In  Fashoda  the 
fever  will  be  the  end  of  you  in  a  week's  time. 
The  Mahdi  knows  why  he  is  sending  you  to 
Smain." 

"We  might  also  have  died  had  we  remained 
in  Omdurman." 

"That  is  not  so!  If  you  had  lived  in  the 
Mahdi's  house,  in  prosperity  and  in  comfort, 
you  would  not  have  died.  And  he  was  pre- 
pared to  take  you  under  his  wing.  I  know  that 
he  intended  to  do  so.  But  you  have  shown  how 
ungrateful  you  are  to  me  for  having  interested 
myself  in  you!  Now  you  can  do  what  you 
please!  In  a  week  Abdullah  will  send  the 
camel-post  to  Fashoda,  and  during  this  week 
you  can  do  what  you  please!  You  will  never 
see  me  again." 

With  these  words  he  went  away,  but  soon 


190     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

returned.  He  was  talkative,  as  all  Greeks  are, 
and  felt  the  necessity  of  giving  vent  to  his  opin- 
ions. He  was  thoroughly  angry,  and  wanted 
to  fire  his  rage  at  Stasch's  head.  He  was  not 
cruel,  nor  had  he  a  bad  heart,  but  he  wanted 
the  boy  to  realize  the  terrible  responsibility  he 
had  incurred  by  not  profiting  by  his  warning 
and  advice. 

"Who  would  have  prevented  you  from  being 
a  Christian  at  heart?"  he  said.  "Do  you  think 
I  am  not  a  Christian?  But  I  am  no  fool.  You 
have  preferred  to  make  a  display  of  false  cour- 
age. Up  to  this  time  I  have  been  able  to  be 
of  great  service  to  the  white  prisoners,  but 
henceforth  I  can  not  do  anything  for  them,  be- 
cause the  Mahdi  is  angry  with  me,  too.  They 
all  will  perish!  And  your  little  companion  in 
suffering  will  surely  die !  You  have  killed  her ! 
In  Fashoda  even  grown  people  succumb  like 
flies  to  the  fever,  and  how  can  such  a  child 
escape?  When  you  are  forced  to  walk  along- 
side of  the  horses  and  camels,  she  will  die  the 
very  first  day.  And  you  will  be  to  blame  for 
it.  You  ought  to  be  happy  now,  you  Chris- 
tian!  " 

He  walked  away,  and  they  turned  off  from 
the  place  of  prayer  and  went  through  narrow, 
dark  lanes  toward  the  tents.  They  walked  a 
long  time,  for  the  town  was  very  large.  Nell, 
who  was  greatly  overcome  by  fatigue,  hunger, 
fear,  and  the  terrible  sensations  she  had  experi- 
enced all  day,  stopped  to  rest;  but  Idris  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      191 

Gebhr  pushed  her  ahead  faster.  After  a  while, 
however,  her  feet  absolutely  refused  to  move  a 
step  farther.  Then  Stasch,  without  thinking 
much  about  it,  picked  her  up  in  his  arms  and 
carried  her.  On  the  way  he  wanted  to  speak 
to  her,  wanted  to  justify  himself  by  telling  her 
that  he  could  not  have  acted  otherwise  than  he 
had,  but  his  mind  was  a  blank  and  he  could  only 
repeat  over  and  over  again :  "Nell !  Nell !  Nell !" 
and  pressed  her  to  him,  unable  to  say  another 
word.  After  they  had  gone  a  short  distance 
Nell  was  so  tired  that  she  fell  asleep  in  his 
arms,  and  so  he  walked  silently  through  the 
quiet  of  the  sleepy  little  streets,  that  were  dis- 
turbed only  by  the  conversation  of  Idris  and 
Gebhr. 

Their  hearts  were  happy,  which  was  lucky 
for  Stasch,  for  otherwise  they  might  have 
wanted  to  punish  him  again  for  having  an- 
swered the  Mahdi  so  rudely.  But  they  were 
so  absorbed  with  what  had  happened  to  them 
that  they  were  quite  unable  to  think  of  any- 
thing else. 

"I  felt  ill,"  said  Idris,  "but  the  sight  of  the 
prophet  made  me  well  again." 

"He  is  like  a  palm  in  the  desert  and  cold 
water  on  a  warm  day,  and  his  words  are  like 
ripe  dates,"  answered  Gebhr. 

"Nur-el-Tadhil  lied  when  he  told  us  that  the 
Mahdi  would  not  admit  us  to  his  presence.  He 
did  admit  us,  and  he  blessed  us,  and  told  Ab- 
dullah to  reward  us." 


192     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"He  will  certainly  reward  us  well,  for  the 
will  of  the  Mahdi  is  sacred." 

"Bismillah!  May  it  be  as  you  say,"  said 
one  of  the  Bedouins. 

And  Gebhr  began  to  dream  of  innumerable 
camels,  horned  cattle,  horses,  and  sacks  filled 
with  piasters.  Idris  awakened  him  from  his 
dreams  by  pointing  to  Stasch,  who  was  carry- 
ing the  sleeping  Nell,  and  asked: 

"And  what  are  we  to  do  with  that  wasp  and 
this  fly?" 

"Ha!  Smain  must  give  us  an  extra  reward 
for  them." 

"I  am  sorry  they  did  not  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  Calif,  who  would  have  taught  this  young 
dog  what  it  means  to  bark  at  the  truth  and  the 
chosen  one  of  God." 

"The  Mahdi  is  merciful,"  answered  Idris, 
and  then  after  a  while  he  continued: 

"Still,  it  is  certain  that  if  Smain  has  them 
both  in  his  hands,  neither  the  Turks  nor  the 
English  will  kill  his  children  and  Fatima." 

"Then  perhaps  he  will  reward  us?" 

"Yes.  So  Abdullah's  post  is  to  take  them  to 
Fashoda,  and  a  heavy  load  will  be  off  our 
shoulders.  And  when  Smain  returns  here  we 
will  demand  a  reward  from  him." 

"So  you  think  we  should  remain  in  Omdur- 
man?" 

"Allah !  Have  you  not  had  enough  traveling, 
in  that  journey  from  Fayoum  to  Khartum? 
It  is  quite  time  to  take  a  rest!" 


"The  brave  boy,  a  true  descendant  of  the  defenders 
of  Christianity,  stood  with  his  head  erect  awaiting  his 
sentence." — Page  187. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     193 

The  tents  were  now  close  by,  but  Stasch 
walked  more  slowly,  for  his  strength  was  be- 
coming exhausted.  Even  though  Nell  was 
light,  he  felt  her  weight  more  and  more.  The 
Sudanese,  who  were  impatient  to  lie  down  and 
sleep,  shouted  at  him  to  hurry  up,  and  at  last 
they  pushed  him  along  by  striking  him  on  the 
head  with  their  fists. 

The  boy  bore  everything  in  silence,  his  one 
thought  being  always  to  protect  his  little  sister, 
and  it  was  only  when  one  of  the  Bedouins  gave 
him  a  blow  that  nearly  knocked  him  down  that 
he  said  through  his  clenched  teeth: 

"We  shall  reach  Fashoda  alive!" 

This  kept  the  Arabs  from  doing  further 
violence,  for  they  were  afraid  to  disobey  the 
commands  of  the  prophet.  But  they  were  even 
more  affected  by  the  fact  that  Idris  was  sud- 
denlj^  seized  with  such  a  severe  attack  of  dizzi- 
ness that  he  had  to  lean  on  Gebhr's  arm,  and 
although  the  pain  ceased  after  a  while,  the 
Sudanese  became  alarmed  and  said : 

"Allah!  Something  must  be  the  matter 
with  me!  Have  I  been  seized  with  some  ill- 
ness?" 

"You  have  seen  the  Mahdi,  and  therefore 
you  will  not  be  ill,"  answered  Gebhr. 

They  finally  reached  the  barracks,  and  sum- 
moning all  his  strength,  Stasch  put  the  sleeping 
Nell  in  the  care  of  old  Dinah,  who,  though  in- 
disposed herself,  nevertheless  prepared  a  very 
comfortable  resting-place  for  her  little  lady. 


194     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

After  the  Sudanese  and  the  Bedouins  had 
swallowed  a  piece  of  raw  meat,  they  threw 
themselves  down  as  heavy  as  logs  on  the  cloth 
rugs.  Stasch  was  given  nothing  to  eat,  but 
Dinah  pushed  a  handful  of  soaked  maize 
toward  him,  a  small  quantity  of  which  she  had 
stolen  from  the  camels.  But  he  was  neither 
sleepy  nor  hungry. 

The  burden  that  rested  on  his  shoulders  was 
really  more  than  heavy.  He  felt  that  he  had 
done  right,  and  even  if  he  forfeited  the  good 
will  of  the  Mahdi,  which  one  could  purchase 
by  denying  one's  faith,  he  knew  his  father 
would  be  very  proud  of  his  decision,  and  that  it 
would  make  him  very  happy,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  thought  that  he  had  endangered  the  life 
of  Nell,  his  companion  in  misfortune  and  his 
beloved  sister,  for  whom  he  would  willingly 
have  given  the  last  drop  of  his  blood. 

And  so  when  every  one  was  asleep  he  sobbed 
as  if  his  heart  would  break,  and  lay  on  the  piece 
of  cloth  rug  weeping  for  a  long  time  like  a  child, 
which,  after  all,  he  still  was. 


T 


CHAPTER   XVI 

HE  visit  to  the  Mahdi  and  his  talk  with  him 
had  evidently  not  brought  health  to  Idris, 
for  during  that  very  night  he  fell  seriously  ill, 
and  in  the  morning  became  unconscious.  Chamis, 
Gebhr,  and  the  Bedouins  were  sent  for  to  ap- 
pear before  the  calif,  who  detained  them  sev- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     195 

eral  hours  and  praised  them  for  their  courage. 
But  they  returned  in  a  very  bad  temper  and 
were  exceedingly  angry,  for  they  had  expected 
heaven  knows  what  kind  of  reward,  and  now 
Abdullah  had  awarded  them  only  an  Egyp- 
tian pound^  and  a  horse.  The  Bedouins  began 
to  quarrel  with  Gebhr,  and  they  nearly  came 
to  blows,  but  finally  decided  that  they  would 
ride  along  to  Fashoda  with  the  camel-post,  so 
as  to  demand  payment  from  Smain.  Chamis, 
in  the  hope  that  Smain's  protection  would  be 
more  advantageous  to  him  than  staying  in  Om- 
durman,  accompanied  them. 

And  then  there  began  a  week  of  hunger  and 
privation  for  the  children,  for  Gebhr  never 
even  thought  of  supplying  them  with  food. 
Happily  Stasch  still  had  two  Maria  Theresa 
thalers,"  that  he  had  received  from  the  Greek, 
and  so  he  went  to  the  town  to  buy  dates  and 
rice.  The  Sudanese  had  nothing  to  say  against 
this,  for  they  knew  that  he  could  not  escape 
from  Omdurman,  and  that  he  would  on  no  ac- 
count leave  the  little  "Biut."  But  the  walk  was 
not  without  incident,  for  the  sight  of  the  boy 
in  European  clothing  buying  provisions  in  the 
market-place  attracted  a  crowd  of  half-savage 
Dervishes,  who  greeted  him  with  laughter  and 
howls.  Luckily  many  of  them  had  seen  him 
the  day  before  when  he  was  with  the  Mahdi, 
and  so  they  restrained  the  others,  who  wanted 

'  About  four  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents. 
^  About  two  dollars. 


196     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

to  attack  him.  The  children,  however,  threw 
stones  and  sand  at  him,  but  he  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  them. 

Prices  in  the  market  were  exceedingly  high, 
so  he  could  not  get  dates,  and  Gebhr  took  most 
of  the  rice  away  to  give  to  his  sick  brother.  The 
boy  resisted  this  with  all  his  strength,  which 
resulted  in  a  scuffle,  from  which  naturally  the 
weaker  one  emerged  bumped  and  bruised. 
Chamis'  cruelty  now  first  became  evident.  He 
only  showed  an  attachment  to  Saba,  and  fed 
him  with  raw  meat,  but  he  viewed  with  the 
greatest  indifference  the  needs  of  the  children, 
whom  he  had  known  for  some  time,  and  who 
had  always  been  kind  to  him ;  and  when  Stasch 
turned  to  him,  begging  him  to  give  Nell  some- 
thing to  eat,  he  answered  laughingly: 

"Go  and  beg." 

Finally  things  came  to  such  a  pass  the  next 
day  that  Stasch  really  had  to  beg  to  save  Nell 
from  suffering  from  hunger.  His  efforts  were 
not  altogether  futile.  Many  times  a  former 
soldier,  an  officer  of  the  Khedive  of  Egypt, 
gave  him  a  few  piasters  or  a  handful  of  dried 
figs,  and  told  him  he  would  help  him  the  fol- 
lowing day.  Once  he  met  a  missionary  and  a 
Sister  of  Charity,  who  wept  on  hearing  the  tale 
of  the  children's  fate,  and  although  they 
themselves  were  exhausted  from  hunger,  they 
shared  what  they  had  with  him.  They  also 
promised  to  visit  them  in  the  barracks,  and  the 
following  day  actually  came,  in  the  hope  that 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     197 

they  might  succeed  in  being  permitted  to  take 
the  children  along  with  them  until  the  depart- 
ure of  the  post.  But  Gebhr  and  Chamis  drove 
them  away  with  scourges. 

On  the  following  day  Stasch  met  them  again, 
and  they  gave  him  a  little  rice  and  two  small 
quinine  powders,  of  which  the  missionary  told 
him  to  be  especially  careful,  in  case  they  should 
get  the  fever  in  Fashoda. 

"You  are  now  going,"  he  said,  "to  ride  along 
the  banks  of  the  White  Nile,  which  has  over- 
flowed, or  straight  through  the  so-called  Sud- 
dis.  As  the  river  can  not  flow  freely  on  ac- 
count of  the  obstacles  in  its  path,  the  plants 
and  leaves  which  the  current  carries  along  pile 
up  in  the  shallow  places,  where  they  form  large, 
infectious  puddles.  There  the  fever  does  not 
spare  even  the  negroes.  Take  special  care  not 
to  sleep  on  the  bare  ground  at  night  without  a 
fire." 

"Would  we  had  died!"  Stasch  answered,  half 
sighing. 

Now  the  missionary,  raising  his  wan  face 
toward  heaven,  prayed  a  while,  and  making  the 
sign  of  the  cross  on  the  boy,  said : 

"Put  your  faith  in  God!  You  have  not  de- 
nied Him,  and  His  mercy  and  protection  will 
be  over  you." 

Stasch  not  only  attempted  to  beg,  but  also 
tried  to  get  work.  One  day  when  he  saw 
crowds  working  in  the  place  of  prayer,  he  went 
over  to  them  and  began  to  carry  clay  to  the 


198     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

wall  which  was  being  built  around  the  place. 
It  is  true  that  he  was  laughed  at  and  pushed 
about,  but  in  the  evening  the  old  sheik,  the 
overseer,  gave  him  twelve  dates.  Stasch  was 
very  much  pleased  with  this  reward,  for  after 
rice  dates  were  the  only  food  that  was  good 
for  Nell,  and  it  was  becoming  more  and  more 
difficult  to  find  them  in  Omdurman. 

So  he  proudly  presented  the  dozen  dates  to 
his  little  sister,  to  whom  he  brought  everything 
he  could  find.  During  the  last  few  days  he  had 
lived  mostly  on  maize  that  he  had  stolen  from 
the  camels.  Nell  was  delighted  when  she  saw 
her  favorite  fruit,  but  she  wanted  Stasch  to 
share  them  with  her.  Standing  on  tip-toe,  she 
put  her  arms  around  his  neck,  and  raising  her 
little  head,  looked  in  his  eyes  and  begged : 

"StaschI    Eathalf  of  them!    Eat  them  I" 

But  he  answered: 

"I  have  already  eaten.  I  have  already 
eaten.    Oh,  I  have  had  a  great  plenty!" 

He  smiled,  but  soon  after  bit  his  lips  to  pre- 
vent bursting  into  tears,  for  he  was  really  all 
but  starved.  He  resolved  to  go  out  the  next 
day  in  search  of  work.  But  things  happened 
that  changed  his  plans.  Early  in  the  morning 
a  messenger  came  by  order  of  Abdullah  to  an- 
nounce that  the  camel-post  would  depart  for 
Fashoda  during  the  night,  and  he  brought  an 
order  from  the  calif  stating  that  Idris,  Gebhr, 
Chamis,  and  the  two  Bedouins  should  have 
themselves  and  the  children  in  readiness  for  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     199 

journey.  This  order  astonished  and  annoyed 
Gebhr,  and  he  declared  that  he  would  not  ride 
because  his  brother  was  ill,  and  there  was  no 
one  to  take  care  of  him,  and  that  even  if  he 
were  well  they  had  decided  to  remain  in  Om- 
durman. 

But  the  messenger  answered: 

"The  Mahdi  never  changes  his  mind,  and 
Abdullah,  his  calif  and  my  master,  never 
changes  his  orders.  A  slave  can  take  care  of 
your  brother,  but  you  will  ride  with  the  others 
to  Fashoda." 

"Then  I  will  go  to  the  calif  and  tell  him  that 
I  will  not  ride." 

"Only  those  gain  admittance  to  the  calif 
whom  he  wishes  to  see,  and  if  you  try  to  force 
your  way  in  without  permission  you  will  be 
led  out  to  the  gallows." 

"Allah  Akbar!  Then  tell  me  plainly  that 
I  am  a  slave." 

"Be  quiet  and  obey  orders!"  answered 
the  messenger. 

The  Sudanese  had  seen  the  gallows  in  Om- 
durman  almost  broken  down  from  the  weight 
of  those  hanged  on  them,  and  that  after  the 
cruel  Abdullah  had  pronounced  sentence  new 
bodies  were  strung  up  daily,  so  he  was  afraid. 
What  the  messenger  had  told  him  about  the 
Mahdi  never  changing  his  mind  and  Abdullah 
never  changing  his  orders  was  confirmed  by  all 
the  Dervishes.  Therefore  there  was  no  way  of 
escape,  and  they  would  have  to  ride. 


200     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I  shall  never  see  Idris  again,"  thought 
Gebhr.  In  his  tiger-like  heart  there  was  still 
a  feeling  of  affection  for  his  elder  brother,  and 
the  thought  of  leaving  him  behind  ill  filled  him 
with  despair.  It  was  in  vain  that  Chamis  and 
the  Bedouins  explained  to  him  that  perhaps 
they  would  be  better  off  in  Fashoda  than  in 
Omdurman,  and  that  Smain  would  probably 
not  give  them  any  larger  reward  than  the  calif 
had  done.  But  nothing  they  could  say  was 
able  to  dispel  Gebhr's  sadness  or  appease  his 
anger,  which  of  course  he  vented  chiefly  on 
Stasch. 

For  the  boy  this  was  a  day  of  real  martyr- 
dom. He  was  not  allowed  to  go  to  the  market- 
place, and  so  he  could  neither  earn  nor  beg 
anything,  and  he  was  made  to  work  like  a  slave 
at  the  baggage,  which  was  being  made  ready 
for  the  journey,  and  this  was  all  the  more  diffi- 
cult because  he  was  very  weak  from  hunger 
and  fatigue.  He  was  just  about  ready  to  die 
on  the  way,  either  from  Gebhr's  scourge  or 
from  exhaustion. 

Fortunately,  toward  evening  the  Greek  ap- 
peared. As  we  have  already  said,  he  had  a 
good  heart,  and  notwithstanding  all  that 
had  taken  place,  he  came  to  see  the  children, 
to  take  leave  of  them,  and  to  give  them  the 
most  necessary  things  for  the  journey.  He 
brought  them  several  little  quinine  powders 
and  some  glass  beads  and  provisions.  On 
hearing     that     Idris     was     ill,     he     turned 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     201 

towards  Gebhr,  Chamis,  and  the  Bedouins  and 
said: 

"I  have  come  by  order  of  the  Mahdi." 

When  they  bowed  low  on  hearing  these 
words,  he  continued: 

"You  are  to  supply  the  children  with  food 
on  the  way  and  are  to  treat  them  well.  They 
are  to  tell  Smain  how  you  have  treated  them, 
and  Smain  will  report  it  to  the  prophet.  If 
there  be  any  complaint  about  you,  the  follow- 
ing post  will  bring  you  your  death  warrant." 

A  second  bow  was  the  only  answer  to  these 
words,  whereupon  Gebhr  and  Chamis  made 
faces  like  dogs  that  are  being  muzzled. 

The  Greek  told  them  to  go  away;  then  he 
added  in  English  as  he  turned  toward  the 
children : 

"I  invented  all  this,  for  the  Mahdi  gave  no 
further  orders  concerning  you.  But  as  he  said 
that  you  were  to  ride  to  Fashoda,  you  must 
naturally  reach  there  alive.  Besides,  I  calcu- 
late that  none  of  these  people  will  see  the 
Mahdi  or  the  calif  before  they  start  on  this 
journey." 

Then  he  turned  to  Stasch  and  continued: 

"Boy,  I  had  a  grudge  against  you,  and  I  still 
have  it.  Do  you  know  that  you  nearly  caused 
my  ruin?  The  Mahdi  was  angry  with  me,  and 
to  appease  him  I  had  to  give  up  a  considerable 
part  of  my  fortune  to  Abdullah,  and  I  am  not 
quite  sure  yet  whether  I  am  safe  for  only  a 
while  or  for  always.    At  any  rate,  hereafter  I 


202     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

shall  not  be  able  to  assist  the  prisoners  as  I 
have  done.  But  I  am  sorry  for  you,  and  espe- 
cially for  this  girl  here.  I  have  a  daughter 
about  her  age,  whom  I  love  more  than  my  own 
life.  All  that  I  have  done  I  did  on  her  account. 
Christ  will  bear  me  witness  to  that.  She  still 
wears  a  silver  cross  under  her  dress,  next  her 
heart.  Her  name  is  the  same  as  yours,  my 
little  one.  If  it  were  not  for  her  I  should  pre- 
fer to  die  rather  than  to  live  in  this  hell." 

He  was  overcome  by  emotion,  and  remained 
silent  for  a  while,  then  he  passed  his  hand  over 
his  forehead  and  began  to  talk  of  something 
else. 

"The  Mahdi  is  sending  you  to  Fashoda, 
secretly  hoping  that  you  will  die  there.  This  is 
his  means  of  taking  revenge  on  you — especially 
on  account  of  your  resistance,  boy,  which 
wounded  him  deeply — without  endangering  his 
name,  'the  merciful  one.'  He  is  always  like 
that.  But  who  can  tell  which  will  die  first! 
-Abdullah  suggested  the  idea  of  ordering  these 
dogs,  who  carried  you  off,  to  ride  along  with 
you.  He  rewarded  them  very  meagerly,  and 
is  afraid  this  may  become  known.  Besides,  he 
and  the  prophet  do  not  want  these  people  to 
spread  the  news  that  there  are  still  soldiers, 
cannon,  money,  and  the  English  in  Egypt. 
But  it  will  be  a  hard  journey  and  a  long 
one.  You  will  pass  through  a  desolate  and 
unhealthy  land,  and  these  powders  will  protect 

you." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     203 

"Sir,  tell  Gebhr  once  more  not  to  dare  let 
Nell  starve  nor  to  beat  her,"  begged  Stasch. 

"Fear  nothing.  I  have  spoken  about  you  to 
the  old  sheik  who  drives  the  post.  He  is  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine,  and  I  have  given  him  a 
watch,  and  this  insured  his  protection  for  you." 

With  these  words  he  prepared  to  leave  them. 
Taking  Nell  in  his  arms,  he  pressed  her  to  his 
heart  and  whispered : 

"God  bless  you,  my  child  I" 

Meanwhile  the  sun  had  gone  down  and  it 
was  starlight.  Through  the  darkness  could  be 
heard  the  neighing  of  the  horses  and  the  pant- 
ing of  the  heavily  laden  camels. 

CHAPTER   XVII 

THE  old  sheik,  Hatim,  faithfully  kept  the 
promise  he  had  made  to  the  Greek,  and 
carefully  protected  the  children.  The  road  to 
the  upper  White  Nile  was  a  difficult  one.  They 
rode  through  Getena,  El-Dueim,  and  Kawa; 
then  they  passed  Abba,  a  wooded  island  in  the 
Nile,  on  which,  before  the  Mahdi's  war,  a  Der- 
vish had  lived  in  a  hollow  tree  the  life  of  a 
hermit.  The  caravan  had  to  go  around  wide 
tracts  of  land  covered  with  papyrus  and 
swamps  called  "Suddis,"  from  which  the  wind 
blew  a  stench  caused  by  rotted  and  decajdng 
leaves  that  had  accumulated  around  obstruc- 
tions in  the  river.  The  English  engineers  had 
once  removed  these  obstructions,  and  at  one 


204      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

time  steamers  could  go  from  Khartum  to 
Fashoda,  and  even  farther  up/  But  now 
the  river  was  clogged  up  again,  and  as  it 
could  not  flow  freely,  it  overflowed  both 
banks.  The  districts  on  the  right  and  left 
banks  were  covered  with  a  high  jungle,  from 
the  midst  of  which  heaps  of  ant-hills  and  iso- 
lated giant  trees  towered.  In  some  places  the 
woods  extended  to  the  stream.  In  dry  places 
grew  large  groves  of  acacias. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  they  still  passed 
Arab  settlements  and  small  towns,  consisting 
of  houses  with  peculiar,  ball-shaped  roofs  of 
straw,  but  on  the  other  side  of  Abba,  behind 
the  settlement  Gos-Abu-Guma,  when  thej^ 
came  to  the  land  of  the  blacks,  they  found  it 
quite  deserted,  for  the  Dervishes  had  carried 
off  nearly  all  the  natives  and  sold  them  in  the 
slave-markets  of  Khartum,  Omdurman,  and 
other  places.  Those  who  escaped  capture  hy 
hiding  in  the  thickets  and  in  the  woods  died  of 
hunger  and  smallpox,  which  was  unusually 
prevalent  along  the  White  and  Blue  Nile.  The 
Dervishes  themselves  said  that  "entire  nations" 
had  died  of  it.  Places  that  were  formerly  sor- 
ghum and  banana  plantations  were  now  cov- 
ered with  jungle.  Only  wild  animals  multi- 
plied, because  there  was  no  one  to  hunt  them. 
Sometimes  about  sunset  the  children  saw  in 
the  distance  herds  of  elephants,  that  looked 

'  After  the  collapse  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Dervishes  communi- 
cation was  again  resumed. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     205 

like  moving  rocks,  slowly  walking  to  their 
watering-place.  As  soon  as  Hatim,  who  was 
formerly  an  ivory-trader,  caught  sight  of  them 
he  smacked  his  lips,  sighed,  and  said  confiden- 
tially to  Stasch: 

"Maschallah!  How  valuable  they  are !  But 
they  are  not  worth  while  hunting  now,  for  the 
Mahdi  has  forbidden  the  Egyptian  merchants 
to  come  to  Khartum ;  so  there  is  no  one  except 
the  emirs  to  buy  elephant  tusks." 

Besides  seeing  elephants,  they  also  came 
across  giraffes,  which  ran  off,  treading  heavily 
and  swaying  their  long  necks,  as  though  they 
were  lame.  Behind  Gos-Abu-Guma  buffaloes 
and  herds  of  antelope  appeared  more  fre- 
quently. When  the  caravan  was  short  of  meat 
the  men  hunted  them,  but  nearly  always  with- 
out success,  for  these  animals  are  too  watchful 
and  fleet  to  be  outwitted  or  cornered- 

Usually  the  food  was  meted  out  somewliat 
sparingly,  for  in  consequence  of  the  land  hav- 
ing been  depopulated,  one  could  not  buy  millet, 
bananas  or  fish,  which  the  negroes  of  the  Schil- 
luk  and  the  Dinka  tribes  used  to  sell  to  cara- 
vans in  exchange  for  glass  beads  and  copper 
wire. 

Hatim  saw  that  the  children  did  not  starve, 
though  he  kept  Gebhr  on  short  rations,  and 
once,  when  they  had  halted  for  the  night  and 
were  taking  the  saddles  off  the  camels,  Gebhr 
struck  Stasch,  and  Hatim  ordered  him  to  be 
laid  on  the  ground,  and  gave  him  thirty  blows 


206     THROUGH  THE  DESERT. 

with  a  bamboo  rod  on  the  sole  of  each  foot. 
For  two  days  the  cruel  Sudanese  could  only 
walk  on  his  toes,  and  he  revenged  himself  on 
a  young  slave  named  Kali  who  had  been  given 
him. 

At  first  Stasch  felt  almost  glad  that  they 
had  left  the  infected  Omdurman  and  that  he 
was  now  passing  through  countries  which  he 
had  always  longed  to  see.  His  strong  consti- 
tution had,  up  to  this  time,  withstood  the 
fatigue  of  the  journey  quite  well,  and  having 
plenty  to  eat,  he  regained  his  lost  energy.  On 
the  march,  and  also  during  the  halts  for  rest, 
he  would  again  whisper  to  his  little  sister  that 
it  was  possible  to  escape  by  way  of  the  White 
Nile,  and  that  he  had  by  no  means  given  up 
this  idea.  But  he  was  worried  about  her  health. 
Three  weeks  had  now  passed  since  they  had  left 
Omdurman.  Nell  had  not  been  stricken  with 
the  fever  as  yet,  but  her  face  had  become  thin, 
and  instead  of  getting  tanned  it  had  become 
more  and  more  transparent,  and  her  little 
hands  had  a  waxen  look.  Stasch  and  Dinah, 
with  the  assistance  of  Hatim,  saw  that  she  was 
well  cared  for  and  that  she  had  every  comfort, 
but  she  missed  the  health-giving  desert  air.  The 
damp,  hot  climate,  together  with  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey,  sapped  still  more  the  strength  of 
the  delicate  child. 

When  they  reached  Gos-Abu-Guma  Stasch 
began  giving  her  half  a  small  quinine  powder 
daily,  and  he  was  greatly  troubled  when  he 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     207 

thought  that  he  had  not  enough  of  this  medi- 
cine to  last  very  long  and  that  he  would  not  be 
able  to  get  any  more.  But  there  was  no  help 
for  it,  because  it  was  most  necessary  to  take 
precautions  against  the  fever.  At  times  he 
would  have  yielded  to  fear  and  despair  had  it 
not  been  for  the  hope  that  Smain,  if  he  wanted 
to  exchange  them  for  his  own  children,  would 
have  to  find  a  more  healthy  place  than  Fashoda 
for  them  to  live  in. 

But  misfortune  seemed  to  follow  its  victims 
continually.  The  day  before  they  arrived  in 
Fashoda,  Dinah,  who  felt  weak  when  they  were 
in  Omdurman,  suddenly  fainted  and  fell  off 
the  camel  while  opening  Nell's  traveling  bag, 
which  they  had  brought  with  them  from  Fay- 
oum.  It  was  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  Chamis  and  Stasch  resuscitated  her.  But 
she  did  not  regain  consciousness  until  toward 
evening,  and  then  only  long  enough  to  bid  a 
tearful  good-by  to  her  beloved  little  lady  and 
die.  Gebhr  wanted  very  much  to  cut  the 
ears  off  the  remains,  so  that  he  could  show  them 
to  Smain  as  a  proof  that  she  had  died  on  the 
way.  That  was  what  was  done  to  slaves  who 
died  on  a  journey.  But  at  the  request  of 
Stasch  and  Nell,  Hatim  did  not  allow  this,  and 
she  was  buried  with  honor,  and  stones  and 
thorns  were  piled  on  her  grave  to  protect  it 
from  hyenas.  The  children  now  felt  even  more 
lonely,  for  in  losing  her  they  had  lost  the  only 
soul  who  stood  near  to  them  and  who  was  de- 


208     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

voted  to  them.  To  Nell  especially  it  was  a 
cruel  blow,  and  during  the  night  and  the  fol- 
lowing day  Stasch  tried  in  vain  to  comfort  her. 

The  sixth  week  of  the  journey  had  begun. 
On  the  following  day,  toward  noon,  the  cara- 
van reached  Fashoda,  but  found  it  in  ruins. 
The  Mahdists  bivouacked  in  the  open  air  or  in 
huts  which  had  been  hastily  built  of  grass  and 
branches.  The  settlement  had  been  completely 
destroyed  by  fire  three  days  before.  Noth- 
ing remained  but  the  smoke-blackened  walls  of 
the  round  clay  huts  and  a  wooden  shed  at  the 
water's  edge,  which  during  the  time  of  the 
Egyptian  rule  had  been  used  as  a  storehouse 
for  ivory,  and  in  which  at  the  present  time  lived 
the  leader  of  the  Dervishes,  the  emir,  Seki 
Tamala.  He  was  a  man  who  was  respected  by 
the  Mahdists,  a  secret  enemy  of  Calif  Abdullah, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  personal  friend  of 
Hatim.  The  emir  was  most  hospitable  to  the 
old  sheik  and  the  children,  but  at  the  very  be- 
ginning he  told  them  an  unwelcome  piece  of 
news. 

Smain  was  no  longer  in  Fashoda.  Two  days 
before  he  had  started  on  an  expedition  after 
slaves  in  the  district  lying  southeast  of  the  Nile, 
and  no  one  knew  when  he  would  return,  for 
the  next  settlement  had  been  deserted,  so  that 
it  was  necessary  to  seek  merchandise  in 
human  beings  at  a  great  distance.  It  is  true 
that  not  very  far  from  Fashoda  lies  Abyssinia, 
with  which  country  the  Dervishes  were  at  war. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     209 

But  Smain,  who  had  only  three  hundred  men, 
did  not  dare  cross  the  borders,  which  were 
strictly  guarded  by  the  warlike  inhabitants  of 
the  land  and  by  the  soldiers  of  King  John. 

Under  these  circumstances  Seki  Tamala  and 
Hatim  had  to  decide  what  was  to  be  done  with 
the  children.  The  consultation  was  carried  on 
chiefly  during  supper,  to  which  the  emir  had 
also  invited  Stasch  and  Nell. 

"I,"  said  he  to  Hatim,  "with  all  my  men  must 
soon  undertake  a  long  expedition  to  the  south, 
against  Emin  Pasha,  who  is  in  Lado,  where  he 
has  steamers  and  soldiers.  Hatim,  you  brought 
me  the  order  to  go.  You  must  return  to  Om- 
durman,  and  then  not  a  human  being  will  be 
left  in  Fashoda.  There  are  no  comfortable 
houses  here  and  nothing  to  eat,  and  besides,  it 
is  a  very  unhealthy  place.  I  know  that  white 
people  do  not  take  smallpox,  but  the  fever 
would  kill  these  children  in  a  month's  time." 

"I  received  orders  to  bring  them  to  Fa- 
shoda," answered  Hatim,  "and  I  have  brought 
them  here,  and  I  do  not  really  need  to  trouble 
myself  further  about  them.  But  my  friend,  the 
Greek  Kaliopuli,  commended  them  to  me,  and 
for  that  reason  I  should  not  like  them  to  die." 

"But  that  is  what  will  certainly  happen!" 

"Then  what  is  to  be  done?" 

"Instead  of  leaving  them  behind  in  Fashoda, 
where  there  is  not  a  human  being,  send  them 
to  Smain  with  the  people  who  brought  them  to 
Omdurman.     Smain  has  gone  off  toward  the 


210     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

mountains,  to  a  dry  and  high  district,  where  the 
fever  is  not  so  fatal  as  here  by  the  river." 

"But  how  will  they  find  Smain?" 

"By  following  the  track  of  the  fires.  He 
will  set  fire  to  the  jungle,  in  the  first  place,  so 
as  to  drive  the  game  into  the  ravines,  where  it 
can  be  easily  hunted  down,  and  secondly,  to 
frighten  away  the  heathen  from  the  thickets, 

where  they  have  fled  from  their  pursuers 

and  so  it  vnM  not  be  difiicult  to  find  Smain." 

"But  will  they  be  able  to  overtake  him?" 

"He  will  sometimes  remain  a  whole  week  in 
a  place,  as  he  has  to  smoke  meat.  But  even  if 
he  should  go  on  after  two  or  three  days,  they 
will  certainly  overtake  him." 

"But  why  should  they  run  after  him?  He 
will  return  to  Fashoda." 

"No;  if  he  should  be  successful  in  his  hunt 
for  slaves  he  will  take  them  to  the  towns  to 
the  market " 

"Then  what  is  to  be  done?" 

"Remember  that  when  we  two  leave  Fa- 
shoda, if  the  children  remain  here  they  will 
either  succumb  to  the  fever  or  starve  to  death." 

"By  the  prophet,  that  is  true!" 

So  there  was  nothing  else  to  do  but  send  the 
children  on  a  new  expedition.  Hatim,  who  had 
proved  himself  a  good  man,  was  especially  wor- 
ried, fearing  that  Gebhr — whose  cruelty  he  had 
discovered  during  the  journey — would  wreak 
his  vengeance  on  them.  But  the  terrible  Seki 
Tamala,  of  whom  even  his  own  soldiers  stood 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     211 

in  dread,  ordered  the  Sudanese  to  come  before 
him,  and  told  him  that  he  must  deliver  the  chil- 
dren aUve  and  well  to  Smain,  and  treat  them 
well,  for  if  he  did  not  he  would  be  hanged. 
Besides  that,  the  good  Hatim  begged  the  emir 
to  give  little  Nell  a  slave  to  wait  on  her  and 
to  nurse  her  during  the  journey  and  in  Smain's 
camp.  Nell  was  greatly  pleased  with  this  gift, 
especially  when  she  found  that  the  slave  was  a 
young  girl  of  the  Dinka  tribe,  with  pleasant 
features  and  a  sweet  expression. 

Stasch  knew  that  to  remain  in  Fashoda 
meant  death,  so  he  did  not  beg  Hatim  not  to 
send  them  on  another  journey — their  third. 
Besides,  in  the  depths  of  his  soul  he  thought 
that  when  riding  toward  the  southeast  they 
would  have  to  approach  the  borders  of  Abys- 
sinia, and  might  be  able  to  escape.  Moreover, 
he  cherished  the  hope  that  on  those  dry  heights 
Nell  might  escape  the  fever.  For  all  these 
reasons  he  gladly  and  enthusiastically  began 
making  preparations  for  the  journey. 

Gebhr,  Chamis  and  the  two  Bedouins  also 
had  nothing  to  say  against  the  expedition,  for 
they,  too,  reckoned  that  at  Smain's  side  they 
might  be  able  to  capture  larger  numbers  of 
slaves  and  that  they  could  then  sell  them  to 
advantage  at  the  markets.  They  knew  that 
slave-traders  sometimes  attain  great  wealth; 
at  any  rate,  they  preferred  to  ride  instead  of 
remaining  where  they  were  under  Hatim's  and 
Seki  Tamala's  strict  rule. 


212     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

But  the  preparations  for  departure  took  con- 
siderable time,  especially  because  the  children 
had  to  rest.  Camels  could  not  be  used  for  this 
journey,  and  so  the  Arabs  and  also  Stasch  and 
Nell  were  to  ride  on  horses,  while  Kali,  Gebhr's 
slave,  and  Nell's  servant,  who  was  called 
"Mea,"  at  Stasch's  suggestion  were  to  go  on 
foot.  Hatim  also  supplied  a  donkey,  which 
carried  a  tent  intended  for  the  girl,  and  also 
enough  provisions  to  last  the  children  three 
days.  Seki  Tamala  could  give  them  no  more. 
A  kind  of  ladies'  saddle  was  constructed  for 
Nell  out  of  palm  and  bamboo  mats. 

The  children  spent  three  days  in  Fashoda 
recovering  from  their  journey,  but  the  numer- 
ous swarms  of  gnats  by  the  river  made  a  fur- 
ther stay  impossible.  During  the  day  there 
were  a  great  many  large  blue  flies,  which, 
although  they  did  not  bite,  were  very  trouble- 
some because  they  got  into  one's  ears,  eyes,  and 
mouth.  Stasch  had  once  heard  in  Port  Said 
that  gnats  and  flies  spread  fever  and  the  germs 
of  an  eye  disease,  so  at  last  he  besought  Seki 
Tamala  to  let  them  start  as  soon  as  possible, 
especially  as  the  spring  rainy  season  was  about 
to  begin. 

CHAPTER   XVIII 

"Q^TASCH,  why  do  we  always  ride  without  find- 
^  ing  Smain?" 

"I  don't  know.  Most  likely  he  is  traveling 
rapidly  so  as  to  lose  no  time  in  reaching  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     213 

districts  where  he  can  capture  the  most  slaves. 
Would  you  be  glad  if  we  could  really  join  his 
division?" 

The  girl  nodded  her  little  blonde  head  as  a 
sign  that  she  was  most  willing. 

"Why  would  you  like  it?"  asked  Stasch,  sur- 
prised. 

"Because  in  the  presence  of  Smain  perhaps 
Gebhr  would  not  dare  beat  this  poor  Kali  so 
terribly." 

"Probably  Smain  is  no  better.  None  of 
them  has  any  mercy  for  their  slaves." 

"Yes,  you  are  right." 

And  tears  flowed  down  her  wan  cheeks.  This 
was  the  ninth  day  of  the  journey.  Gebhr,  who 
was  now  the  leader  of  the  caravan,  at  first  found 
a  few  traces  of  Smain's  march.  Stretches  of 
burned  jungle  and  places  where  he  had 
camped,  crunched  bones,  and  various  discarded 
material  marked  his  route. 

Five  days  later  they  came  to  a  wide  steppe, 
where  the  wind  had  carried  the  fire  in  every 
direction.  The  traces  were  indistinct  and  con- 
fusing, for  Smain  had  apparently  divided  his 
company  into  several  small  groups  in  order  to 
facilitate  cornering  the  game  and  obtaining 
provisions.  Gebhr  did  not  know  which  direc- 
tion to  take,  and  it  often  seemed  as  if  the  cara- 
van had  traveled  around  in  a  circle,  returning 
to  the  same  place  from  which  it  started.  Then 
they  came  upon  woods,  and  after  having  trav- 
eled through  them,  they  entered  a  rocky  coun- 


214     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

try,  where  the  ground  was  covered  with  flat 
slabs  or  small  level  stones,  that  for  some  dis- 
tance were  strewn  so  thickly  that  they  reminded 
the  children  of  the  roads  in  town.  The  vegeta- 
tion was  scanty.  Only  here  and  there,  in  the 
clefts  of  the  rocks,  grew  euphorbias,  mimosas, 
and  rarer  and  slimmer  pale  green  trees,  which 
Kah,  in  the  Ki-swahili  language,  called  "m'ti." 
The  horses  were  fed  with  the  leaves  of  these 
trees.  In  this  land  there  were  very  few  small 
rivers  and  streams,  but  fortunately  it  rained 
now  and  then,  and  there  was  sufficient  water 
in  the  cavities  and  clefts  of  the  rocks. 

Smain's  party  had  frightened  off  the  game, 
and  the  caravan  would  have  died  of  hunger  had 
it  not  been  for  a  number  of  Pentaren  birds  that 
flew  into  the  air  every  second  from  between  the 
horses'  feet.  Toward  evening  the  trees  were 
so  full  of  them  that  one  had  only  to  shoot  in 
their  direction  to  bring  some  of  them  down,  and 
they  served  for  food.  Besides,  they  were  not 
shy,  for  they  let  people  approach  them,  and 
were  so  clumsy  and  heavy  in  preparing  for 
flight  that  Saba,  who  generally  ran  in  advance 
of  the  caravan,  caught  and  killed  some  of  them 
nearly  every  day.  Chamis  killed  a  number  of 
these  birds  with  his  old  flintlock  musket  that 
he  had  stolen  from  one  of  the  Dervishes  under 
Hatim,  on  the  road  from  Omdurman  to  Fa- 
shoda.  But  he  only  had  enough  shot  for  twenty 
cartridges,  and  he  felt  very  much  worried  when 
he  thought  of  what  would  happen  when  they 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     215 

were  used  up.  Notwithstanding  the  game  had 
been  frightened  away,  they  occasionally  saw 
herds  of  gazels,  a  beautiful  species  of  ante- 
lope which  is  found  all  over  central  Africa. 
These  animals,  however,  could  only  be  shot, 
and  the  men  did  not  know  how  to  use  Stasch's 
gun,  and  Gebhr  would  not  give  it  to  him. 

But  the  Sudanese  also  began  to  be  worried 
about  the  length  of  time  they  were  on  the  way. 
Sometimes  he  even  thought  of  returning  to 
Fashoda,  for  if  they  were  to  miss  Smain  they 
might  get  lost  in  the  wilderness  and  not  only 
suffer  from  hunger,  but  be  in  danger  of  attack 
by  wild  animals  and  still  wilder  negroes,  who 
vowed  vengeance  on  account  of  having  been 
hunted  for  slaves.  But  as  he  did  not  know  that 
Seki  Tamala  had  undertaken  an  expedition 
against  Emin  Pasha,  because  he  had  not  been 
present  when  the  conversation  on  that  subject 
had  taken  place,  he  was  alarmed  at  the  thought 
of  appearing  before  the  powerful  emir,  who 
had  ordered  him  to  bring  the  children  to  Smain, 
and  who  had  given  him  a  letter  to  take  to  him, 
threatening  that  if  he  did  not  execute  his  orders 
faithfully  he  would  be  hanged.  All  this  com- 
bined to  fill  his  heart  with  bitterness  and  rage. 
Though  he  did  not  dare  to  vent  his  disappoint- 
ments on  Stasch  and  Nell,  poor  Kali's  back 
was  daily  covered  with  blood  from  being  beaten 
with  the  scourge.  The  slave  always  approached 
his  cruel  master  in  fear  and  trembling.  But  in 
vain  did  he  clasp  him  by  the  feet  and  kiss  his 


216      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

hands,  and  fall  on  his  face  before  him.  Neither 
humility  nor  groans  softened  the  stony  heart ;  for 
on  the  slightest  pretext,  and  sometimes  without 
any  provocation  at  all,  the  scourge  tore  the  flesh 
of  the  unhappy  boy.  During  the  night  his  feet 
were  chained  to  a  piece  of  wood  with  two  holes 
in  it,  so  that  he  could  not  run  away.  During 
the  daytime  he  walked  alongside  of  Gebhr's 
horse,  attached  to  it  by  a  rope,  which  greatly 
amused  Chamis.  Nell  shed  tears  for  poor  Kali. 
Stasch  revolted  in  his  heart,  and  often  val- 
iantly championed  Kali,  but  when  he  noticed 
that  this  annoyed  Gebhr  still  more  he  simply 
clenched  his  teeth  and  was  silent. 

Kali  perceived  that  they  both  sympathized 
with  him,  and  he  began  to  grow  very  fond  of 
them. 

For  two  days  they  had  ridden  through  a 
rocky  ravine  enclosed  by  high,  steep  rocks. 
From  the  stones  which  had  collected  in  the 
wildest  confusion  it  could  plainly  be  seen  that 
the  ravine  was  filled  with  water  during  the 
rainy  season,  but  now  the  ground  was  quite 
dry.  On  both  sides,  up  against  the  cliffs,  grew 
a  little  grass,  a  great  many  thorns,  and  here 
and  there  even  a  few  trees.  Gebhr  had  ridden 
into  this  stony  gorge  because  it  continually 
went  up  hill  and  he  thought  it  would  lead  to 
some  height  from  which,  by  day,  it  would  be 
easier  to  see  the  smoke  and  by  night  the  flames 
of  Smain's  camp-fire.  In  some  places  the  ra- 
vine became  so  narrow  that  only  two  horses 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     217 

could  walk  abreast,  while  in  others  it  expanded 
into  small  circular  valleys  enclosed  on  all  sides 
by  high  stone  walls,  on  which  sat  large  apes, 
that  played  with  one  another,  and  on  seeing  the 
caravan  barked  and  showed  their  teeth. 

It  was  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The 
sun  was  already  low  in  the  west.  Gebhr  had 
begun  to  think  of  their  night  quarters.  He  was 
hoping  to  reach  a  small  valley,  in  which  he 
could  erect  a  zareba — to  surround  the  caravan 
and  the  horses  with  a  hedge  of  prickly  mimosas 
and  acacias,  to  protect  them  from  being  at- 
tacked by  wild  beasts.  Saba  ran  in  advance, 
barking  at  the  monkeys,  which,  on  seeing  him, 
moved  about  restlessly,  and  he  disappeared 
time  and  again  in  the  windings  of  the  ravine,  his 
loud  barks  being  repeated  by  the  echoes. 

Suddenly  Saba  became  silent.  Soon  after  he 
came  up  at  a  gallop,  the  hair  on  his  back  brist- 
ling, his  tail  down,  and  ran  up  to  the  horses. 
The  Bedouins  and  Gebhr  knew  at  once  that 
something  must  have  frightened  him,  but  after 
they  had  looked  around  questioningly  they  con- 
tinued on  their  way  to  investigate  the  reason. 
But  when  they  had  passed  a  small  bend  they 
reined  in  their  horses,  and  for  a  moment  re- 
mained as  if  rooted  to  the  spot  at  the  sight  that 
presented  itself  before  them. 

On  a  large  rock  in  the  middle  of  the  ravine, 
which  was  fairly  broad  at  this  place,  lay 
a  lion.  They  could  not  have  been  more  than 
a  hundred  feet  from  him.     As  soon  as  the 


218     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

powerful  animal  saw  the  riders  and  horses  he 
rose  on  his  hind  legs  and  stared  at  them  with 
gleaming  eyes.  The  rays  of  the  setting  sun 
shone  on  his  enormous  head  and  shaggy  breast, 
and  in  this  red  light  he  resembled  one  of  those 
sphinxes  that  ornament  the  entrances  to  the 
ancient  Egyptian  temples. 

The  frightened  horses  began  to  rear,  turn 
around,  and  prance  backward.  The  astonished 
and  terrified  riders  did  not  know  what  to  do, 
and  frightened  and  perplexed,  cried  out  as 
with  one  voice:  "Allah I  Bismillah!  Allah 
Akbar!" 

The  desert  king,  motionless  as  bronze,  sur- 
veyed them  from  head  to  foot. 

Gebhr  and  Chamis  had  heard  from  mer- 
chants who  had  brought  ivory  and  rubber  from 
Sudan  to  Egypt  that  lions  sometimes  obstruct 
the  route,  and  that  the  only  thing  for  a  caravan 
to  do  is  to  make  a  detour  around  the  beast. 
But  now  they  were  in  a  place  from  which  there 
was  no  means  of  exit  but  to  turn  back  and  run 
away,  and  then  it  was  almost  certain  that  the 
terrible  beast  would  follow  them. 

Once  more  the  feverish  question  was  asked: 

"What  is  to  be  done?" 

"Allah !    Perhaps  he  will  back  out !" 

"He  will  not  move  out  of  the  way." 

There  was  a  dead  silence.  Not  a  sound  could 
be  heard  except  the  snorting  of  the  horses  and 
the  rapid  breathing  of  the  party. 

"Loose  Kali  from  the  rope,"  suddenly  said 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     219 

Chamis  to  Gebhr,  "and  we  will  escape  on  the 
horses ;  then  the  lion  will  catch  him  first,  and  he 
will  be  the  only  one  slain." 

"Yes,  yes,  do  so!"  replied  the  Bedouins. 

But  Gebhr  thought  Kali  would  immediately 
climb  up  the  side  of  the  cliff,  while  the  lion 
would  make  a  bee-line  for  the  horses.  With 
this  in  his  mind  another  idea,  still  more  terrible, 
flashed  upon  him.  He  would  kill  the  slave  and 
throw  him  behind  him — then  if  the  beast  were 
to  follow  them  he  would  see  the  bloody  body 
lying  on  the  ground  and  stop  to  devour  it. 

So  he  drew  Kali  by  the  rope  nearer  to  his 
saddle,  and  had  already  raised  his  knife — when 
Stasch  caught  hold  of  him  by  his  wide  sleeve: 

"Villain,  what  are  you  doing?" 

Geblir  tried  to  tear  himself  loose,  and  if  the 
boy  had  caught  hold  of  the  arm  itself  he  would 
have  been  shaken  off  at  once,  but  as  he  had  hold 
of  the  sleeve,  it  was  not  so  easy,  and  while 
Gebhr  tried  to  tear  himself  loose  he  gesticu- 
lated and  cried  in  a  voice  thick  with  rage: 

"Dog,  if  that  one  is  not  sufficient,  I  will  stab 
you,  too.    Allah!    I  will  stab  you,  stab  you!" 

Stasch  became  white  as  a  ghost.  Like  a 
flash  of  lightning  he  thought  that  if  the  Hon 
should  follow  the  horses  he  might  in  the  pursuit 
overlook  Kali's  body,  and  in  that  case  Gebhr 
would  certainly  stab  them  all,  one  after  the 
other. 

Pulling  Gebhr's  sleeve  with  increased  en- 
ergy, Stasch  screamed  out : 


220     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Give  me  the  rifle  and  I  will  kill  the  lion!" 
The  Bedouins  were  speechless  from  surprise 
at  these  words,  but  Chamis,  who  in  Port  Said 
had  seen  how  well  Stasch  could  shoot,  imme- 
diately cried  out: 

"Give  him  the  gun!  He  will  kill  the  lion!" 
Gebhr  also  recalled  the  shooting  at  Karoon 
Lake,  and  in  face  of  their  terrible  danger  he 
at  once  ceased  to  make  further  resistance, 
and  hastily  handed  the  gun  to  the  boj^,  while 
Chamis  hurriedly  opened  the  cartridge  case, 
from  which  Stasch  took  out  a  handful. 

The  boy  jumped  off  his  horse,  shoved  the 
cartridges  into  the  barrel  of  the  gun,  and  ad- 
vanced. While  taking  his  first  steps  forward 
he  felt  stunned,  and  pictured  himself  and  Nell 
with  their  throats  cut  from  ear  to  ear  by 
Gebhr 's  knife.  But  soon  the  imminent  and 
terrible  danger  they  were  in  made  him  oblivi- 
ous to  everything  else.  A  lion  was  before  him ! 
When  he  first  caught  sight  of  the  beast  every- 
thing became  black  before  his  eyes.  His  cheeks 
and  nose  felt  icy  cold,  his  legs  grew  heavy  as 
lead,  and  his  breath  threatened  to  give  out.  In 
short,  he  was  frightened!  In  Port  Said  he 
always  preferred  to  read  something  else  rather 
than  stories  of  lion  hunts,  but  it  is  one  thing  to 
look  at  pictures  in  a  book  and  another  thing  to 
stand  face  to  face  with  a  monster  such  as  now 
looked  at  him  in  surprise  while  drawing  up  its 
broad,  shield-like  forehead. 

The  Arabs  were  breathless,  for   never  in 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     221 

their  lives  had  they  seen  anything  hke  this.  On 
one  side  a  small  boy,  who,  in  contrast  to  the  high 
rock,  looked  still  smaller,  and  on  the  other  a 
powerful  beast,  shining  like  gold  in  the  rays  of 
the  sun,  magnificent,  threatening,  really  a 
"Lord  with  a  large  head,"  as  the  Sudanese  call 
him. 

Stasch's  iron  will  quickly  controlled  his 
trembling  limbs,  and  he  advanced  still  further. 
It  seemed  to  him  as  if  his  heart  were  in  his 
throat,  until  he  put  up  the  gun  to  take  aim. 
Now  was  the  time  to  have  one's  wits  about  one ! 
Should  he  go  still  nearer  or  fire  from  where 
he  stood?  Where  should  he  aim?  The  shorter 
the  distance  the  surer  the  shot!  So  he  went 
still  nearer,  he  advanced  forty  steps —  Still  too 
far  off! — thirty! — twenty!  The  wind  now 
brought  to  him  the  strong  scent  of  the  wild 
animal 

The  boy  stopped. 

"A  ball  between  the  ej^es,  or  I  am  lost!" 
thought  he.  "In  the  name  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son " 

The  lion  got  up,  stretched  himself,  and  low- 
ered his  head.  His  mouth  began  to  open  and 
his  eyes  to  narrow.  Who  was  this  tiny  being 
that  dared  come  so  near?  Ready  to  spring, 
he  crouched  on  his  hind  legs,  his  paws  slightly 
twitching 

At  this  instant  Stasch  sighted  the  gun 
straight  at  the  middle  of  the  animal's  forehead 
— and  pulled  the  trigger.    The  shot  resounded. 


222     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

The  lion  reared — rose  to  his  full  height — fell 
over  on  his  back  with  his  four  paws  in  the 
air,  and  in  his  death  agony  rolled  off  the 
rock,  plunging  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
ravine. 

For  a  few  minutes  Stasch  still  kept  him 
within  range  of  the  gun,  but  when  he  saw  that 
the  twitching  had  ceased,  and  that  the  yellow 
body  lay  there  motionless  and  stiff,  he  opened 
the  gun  and  put  in  another  cartridge. 

The  walls  of  the  cliffs  still  rang  out  with 
loud  echoes.  Gebhr,  Chamis,  and  the  Bedou- 
ins could  not  at  first  realize  what  had  hap- 
pened, for  it  had  rained  during  the  previous 
night,  and  on  account  of  the  humidity  in  the 
air  the  smoke  hid  everything  in  the  narrow  ra- 
vine. But  when  it  disappeared  they  shouted 
for  joy  and  tried  to  rush  up  to  the  boy,  but 
their  efforts  were  in  vain,  for  no  power  on  earth 
could  force  the  horses  to  take  even  one  step  for- 
ward. 

Stasch  turned,  took  in  the  four  Arabs  at  a 
glance,  and  fixed  his  eyes  on  Gebhr. 

"Enough!"  he  said,  clenching  his  teeth  to- 
gether. "The  measure  is  more  than  full.  You 
shall  murder  neither  Nell  nor  any  one  else." 

And  suddenly  he  felt  his  cheeks  and  nose 
again  grow  cold,  but  this  was  a  different  kind 
of  cold — not  caused  by  fright,  but  by  a  terrible, 
fixed  resolve,  that  suddenly  hardened  his  heart 
like  steel. 

"Yes,  it  must  be !"  he  said  to  himself.    "They 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     223 

are  all  villains,  hangmen,  murderers — and  Nell 
is  in  their  hands!" 

"You  shall  not  kill  her  I"  he  repeated. 

He  approached  them — and  drew  back  a 
pace — then  suddenly  raised  the  gun  to  his 
shoulder. 

Two  shots,  following  in  quick  succession, 
echoed  through  the  ravine  I  Gebhr  fell  to  the 
ground  like  a  bag  of  sand.  Chamis  leaned 
forward  in  his  saddle  and  struck  the  horse's 
neck  with  his  bloody  forehead. 

The  two  Bedouins  screamed  with  fright,  and 
springing  from  their  horses,  rushed  at  Stasch. 
The  bend  in  the  ravine  was  directly  behind 
them,  and  had  they  fled  there,  as  Stasch  ar- 
dently hoped,  they  would  have  been  able  to 
escape  death.  But  blinded  by  fear  and  rage, 
they  thought  to  reach  the  boy  and  stab  him 
before  he  had  time  to  reload.  Fools!  They 
had  scarcely  gone  a  few  steps  when  the  trigger 
clicked  again.  The  ravine  rang  with  the  echoes 
of  the  shots  and  both  men  fell  face  downward 
to  the  ground,  wriggling  like  fish  out  of 
water. 

One  of  them  was  shot  in  the  throat  and  not 
very  dangerously  wounded;  he  rose  again  and 
supported  himself  on  his  hands,  but  at  the  same 
moment  Saba  buried  his  teeth  in  his  neck. 

Dead  silence  ensued. 

This  was  interrupted  by  groans  from  Kali, 
who  on  his  knees  with  outstretched  hands 
screamed  in  disjointed  Ki-swahili  sentences: 


224      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Bwana  Kubwa!'  Kill  the  lion!  Kill  the 
bad  people!    But  do  not  kill  Kali!" 

Stasch  did  not  listen  to  his  cries.  For  a 
while  he  stood  there  as  in  a  daze.  Then  he  saw 
Nell's  pale  little  face  and  her  frightened,  wide- 
open,  wondering  eyes.  Springing  toward  her, 
he  cried: 

"Don't  be  afraid,  Nell!    We  are  free,  Nell!" 

True,  they  were  free,  but  free  in  the  midst 
of  a  wild,  uninhabited  solitude,  lost  in  the  heart 
of  the  black  country. 

'Great  Man. 


Through  the  Desert 

PART  II 

CHAPTER  I 

BEFORE  Stasch  and  the  young  negro  could 
dispose  of  the  dead  bodies  of  the  Arabs  and 
the  carcass  of  the  hon  the  sun  had  nearly  set,  and 
night  was  approaching.  But  they  could  not 
possibly  pass  the  night  near  the  corpses,  and 
although  Kali,  stroking  his  chest  and  stomach 
with  his  hand,  pointed  to  the  dead  lion  as  he 
smacked  his  lips,  and  repeated,  "Msuri^  nyama" 
("good,  good  meat") ,  Stasch  would  not  permit 
him  to  touch  the  "nyama,"  but  told  him  to  catch 
the  horses,  which  had  run  away  at  the  report  of 
the  guns.  The  black  boy  executed  this  order 
very  cleverly,  for  instead  of  following  them 
into  the  valley — in  which  case  they  would  have 
continued  to  run  further  away — he  climbed  up 
the  side  of  the  hill  and  so  took  a  short  cut  across 
corners  and  headed  off  the  frightened  animals. 
In  this  manner  he  caught  two  of  them  easily, 
and  the  other  two  he  drove  toward  Stasch. 

But  Gebhr's  and  Chamis'  horses  could  not  be 
found.  Besides  these  there  remained  four 
saddle-horses,  not  counting  the  mule  which 
carried  the  tent  and  the  baggage,  and  which 
had  been  very  calm  throughout  all  these  trag- 
ical events.     The  donkey  was  found  behind  a 

225 


^26     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

corner  quietly  grazing  on  the  grass  that  grew 
in  the  bottom  of  the  valley. 

The  Sudan  horses  are  quite  accustomed  to 
the  sight  of  wild  animals,  though  they  are 
afraid  of  lions.  Therefore  it  took  a  great  deal 
of  persuasion  to  induce  them  to  pass  the  rock 
and  the  pool  of  blood.  The  horses  neighed, 
snorted,  and  drew  their  heads  back  at  the  sight 
of  the  bloodstained  stones,  but  no  sooner  did 
the  donkey  prick  up  his  ears  and  pass  by  quietly 
than  they  followed.  Though  night  had  now 
begun  to  fall,  they  walked  on  for  a  while,  and 
only  stopped  on  reaching  a  place  where  the 
valley  narrowed  once  more  into  a  small  am- 
phitheater mostly  covered  with  thorns  and 
prickly  mimosa  bushes. 

"Sir,"  said  the  young  negro,  "Kali  will  make 
a  fire,  a  large  fire." 

And  he  took  a  broad  Sudanese  sword  which 
he  had  removed  from  Gebhr's  corpse  and  used 
it  to  cut  down  the  thorns  and  large  bushes. 
After  he  lighted  the  fire  he  continued  to  chop 
wood  until  he  had  a  sufficient  amount  to  last 
through  the  night. 

Then  he  and  Stasch  began  to  set  up  on  the 
steep  side  of  the  valley  a  small  tent  for  Nell, 
which  they  enclosed  with  a  broad  and  high 
prickly  hedge  shaped  like  a  half  moon,  or  with 
a  so-called  "Zareba." 

Stasch  knew  from  descriptions  given  by 
African  travelers  that  they  are  thus  able  to  pro- 
tect themselves  against  the  onslaughts  of  wild 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     227 

animals.  But  there  was  not  enough  room  be- 
hind the  hedge  for  the  horses,  and  therefore  the 
boys  removed  the  saddles,  harnesses,  and  bags 
from  the  animals,  and  only  tied  their  feet,  so 
that  when  searching  for  grass  and  water  they 
would  not  stray  away  too  far. 

In  fact,  water  was  to  be  found  quite  near,  in 
a  crevice  of  a  rock  which  formed  a  small  basin 
under  the  opposite  boulder.  There  was  enough 
to  quench  the  thirst  of  the  horses  and  some 
to  spare  for  the  following  morning  in  which  to 
cook  the  birds  Chamis  had  shot.  And  in  the  bag- 
gage which  the  donkey  carried,  in  addition  to  the 
tent,  there  were  found  some  corn,  a  little  salt, 
and  a  bundle  of  dried  manioc  roots,  which  were 
sufficient  for  a  substantial  meal.  But  only  Kali 
and  Mea  had  any  appetite.  The  young  negro, 
who  had  been  half  starved  by  Gebhr,  ate  enough 
for  two.  He  was  more  than  grateful  to  his  new 
masters,  and  directly  after  the  meal  he  fell 
down  on  his  face  before  Stasch  and  Nell,  to  de- 
note that  he  would  remain  their  slave  until  his 
dying  day;  and  he  also  showed  great  respect 
for  Stasch's  rifle,  possibly  with  the  correct  idea 
that  it  would  be  safer  to  obtain  in  advance  the 
good  will  of  such  a  powerful  weapon.  Then  he 
declared  that  he  would  take  turns  with  Mea 
watching  over  the  "Great  Man"  and  the  "Bibi" 
while  they  slept,  and  that  he  would  also  see  that 
the  fire  did  not  go  out. 

Then  he  immediately  squatted  down  in  front 
of  them,  crossed  his  legs,  and  hummed  a  little 


228      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

tune,  in  which  he  invariably  repeated  the  re- 
frain, "Simha  kufa,  siinha  kufa,"  which  in  the 
Ki-swahili  language  means  "The  lion  is  dead." 
But  neither  the  "Great  Man"  nor  the  "Small 
Bibi"  felt  sleepy,  and  Stasch  had  to  coax  Nell 
before  he  could  induce  her  to  taste  a  little  of  the 
bird  and  a  few  grains  of  the  boiled  corn.  She 
said  she  could  neither  eat  nor  sleep,  and  that 
she  only  wanted  a  drink.  Stasch  was  afraid  she 
was  getting  the  fever,  but  he  was  soon  con- 
vinced to  the  contrary,  as  even  her  hands  were 
cold.  He  was  eventually  able  to  induce  her  to 
go  into  the  tent,  where  he  had  arranged  a  place 
for  her  to  lie  down,  after  having  at  first  care- 
fully looked  to  see  if  there  were  any  scorpions 
in  the  grass.  As  for  him,  he  sat  down  on  a 
stone  with  his  rifle  on  his  arm,  to  guard  her 
from  an  onslaught  of  wild  animals,  in  case  the 
fire  should  prove  insufficient  protection.  He 
was  overcome  by  fatigue  and  greatly  exhausted, 
and  repeated  to  himself  over  and  over  again,  "I 
have  killed  Gebhr  and  Chamis  and  the  Bedou- 
ins ;  I  have  killed  a  lion  and  we  are  free."  But 
he  felt  as  though  some  one  else  were  whispering 
these  words  to  him  and  that  he  could  not  com- 
prehend their  meaning.  He  only  knew  that 
they  were  free,  and  at  the  same  time  something 
terrible  had  happened,  which  filled  him  with 
uneasiness  and  pressed  like  a  heavy  weight  on 
his  chest.  At  last  his  thoughts  became  indis- 
tinct. For  a  while  he  gazed  at  the  moth  which 
hovered  over  the  flame,  and  at  last  he  began  to 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      229 

nod  and  doze.  Kali,  too,  was  napping,  but 
awoke  every  now  and  then  and  threw  branches 
into  the  fire. 

The  night  was  dark,  and — what  is  very  un- 
usual near  the  equator — very  quiet.  Nothing 
could  be  heard  but  the  crackling  of  the  burning 
thorns  and  the  flickering  of  the  flames  as  they 
lighted  up  the  promontories  of  the  cliffs,  which 
formed  a  half  circle.  The  moon  did  not  shine 
into  the  interior  of  the  gorge,  but  millions  of 
strange  stars  twinkled.  The  air  had  become  so 
cold  that  Stasch  awoke,  sleepy  and  chilly,  and 
he  was  alarmed  lest  the  cold  might  harm  little 
Nell. 

However,  he  was  reassured  when  he  remem- 
bered that  he  had  left  for  her,  on  the  rug  in  the 
tent,  the  shawl  which  Dinah  had  taken  away 
from  Fayoum.  He  also  remembered  that  they 
had  unknowingly  been  riding  up  hill  from  the 
time  they  quitted  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and 
that  consequently  now,  after  several  days  of 
travel,  they  ought  to  be  fairly  high  up,  so  as  to 
be  beyond  any  danger  from  fever,  which  in- 
fested the  land  by  the  river.  The  penetrating 
chilliness  of  the  night  seemed  to  substantiate 
his  opinion. 

This  thought  gave  him  courage.  He  en- 
tered the  tent  for  a  moment  to  hear  if  Nell 
was  sleeping  peacefully,  then  he  returned, 
settled  down  nearer  the  fire,  and  began  to  doze 
once  more,  and  in  fact  soon  fell  fast  asleep. 

Suddenly  Saba,  who  had  stretched  himself 


230     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

out  to  sleep  at  his  feet,  aroused  him  by 
growling. 

Kali  awoke  also,  and  both  began  to  look 
anxiously  at  the  dog.  He  lay  there  tense  as  the 
string  of  a  bow,  pricking  up  his  ears,  with  di- 
lated nostrils,  sniffing  the  air,  and  staring  into 
the  darkness  in  the  direction  from  which  they 
had  come.  The  hair  on  his  neck  and  his  back 
stood  on  end,  his  chest  expanded  with  his  heavy 
breathing,  and  he  growled. 

The  young  slave  hurriedly  threw  some 
branches  on  the  fire. 

"Sir,"  he  whispered,  "take  your  gun,  take 
your  gun." 

Stasch  took  up  his  rifle  and  crouched  in  front 
of  the  fire  so  that  he  could  get  a  better  view  of 
the  dark  bend  of  the  gorge.  Saba's  growls 
changed  into  a  short  bark.  For  a  little  while 
there  was  no  sound ;  then  from  a  distance  Kali 
and  Stasch  heard  a  dull  tramping,  as  though 
large  animals  were  running  toward  the  fire. 
This  tramping  resounded  through  the  night, 
echoed  from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  increased  every 
second. 

Stasch  felt  that  great  danger  was  approach- 
ing. But  what  could  it  be?  Perhaps  buffaloes 
or  a  couple  of  rhinoceroses  trying  to  find  their 
way  out  of  the  gorge.  In  this  case  if  the  report 
of  a  shot  were  not  successful  in  frightening 
them  and  causing  them  to  retrace  their  steps, 
nothing  could  save  the  caravan,  for  these  ani- 
mals are  just  as  vicious  and  liable  to  attack  one 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     231 

as  animals  of  prey;  and  they  have  no  fear  of 
fire,  and  destroy  everything  that  comes  in  their 
way. 

But  what  if  it  were  a  division  of  Smain's  ex- 
pedition, which,  after  having  discovered  the 
corpse  in  the  gorge,  was  hunting  for  the  mur- 
derer! Stasch  could  not  make  up  his  mind  as 
to  which  would  be  the  better — a  quick  death,  or 
to  be  put  in  prison  again.  At  the  same  time  it 
occurred  to  him  that  if  Smain  himself  happened 
to  be  in  this  division  he  would  most  likely  spare 
them,  but  if  he  were  not  there  the  Dervishes 
would  either  murder  them  at  once  or — which 
would  be  still  worse — torture  them  terribly  be- 
fore putting  them  to  death. 

"Oh,"  thought  he,  "let  us  pray  that  they  are 
animals  and  not  human  beings." 

Meanwhile  the  tramping  increased,  and 
changed  into  the  clatter  of  hoofs,  until  at  last 
out  of  the  darkness  appeared  fiery  eyes,  dilated 
nostrils,  and  manes  disheveled  from  running. 

"Horses!"  exclaimed  Kali. 

These  were  really  Gebhr's  and  Chamis' 
horses.  They  came  running  at  a  wild  gallop, 
obviously  driven  on  by  fright,  but  as  they 
rushed  into  the  light  and  saw  their  captive 
friends  they  reared,  neighed,  pawed  the  ground 
with  their  hoofs,  and  then  for  a  while  stood 
motionless. 

Stasch  did  not  remove  his  gun  from  his 
shoulder.  He  was  sure  that  behind  the  horses 
the  disheveled  head  of  a  lion  or  the  flat  skull 


232     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

of  a  leopard  might  appear  at  any  minute.  But 
he  waited  in  vain.  The  horses  gradually  quieted 
down,  and  what  was  more  important,  Saba 
stopped  sniffing,  and  stretching  himself  out 
after  the  manner  of  dogs,  turned  round  and 
round  on  the  same  spot,  curled  up  and  closed 
his  eyes.  If  animals  of  prey  had  chased  the 
horses,  it  was  evident  that  they  had  slowly 
turned  back  on  smelling  the  smoke  or  seeing  the 
fire  light  reflected  on  the  rocks. 

"At  any  rate,  something  must  have  fright- 
ened them  very  much,"  said  Stasch  to  Kali; 
"because  they  were  not  afraid  to  run  past  the 
corpses  of  the  men  and  lion." 

"Sir,"  answered  the  boy,  "Kali  imagines 
what  has  happened.  A  great  many  hyenas  and 
jackals  have  entered  the  gorge  to  reach  the 
corpses.  The  horses  have  run  away  from  them, 
and  the  hyenas  did  not  pursue  them  because 
they  were  devouring  Gebhr  and  the  others — " 

"That  may  be,  but  go  now  and  take  the 
saddles  off  the  horses  and  bring  the  harnesses 
and  the  water-bags  here.  Do  not  be  afraid ;  the 
gun  will  protect  you." 

"Kali  not  afraid,"  said  the  boy,  and  as  he 
pushed  aside  some  of  the  thorns  that  were 
next  to  the  cliffs  he  stole  out  of  the  hedge, 
and  at  the  same  time  Nell  stepped  out  of  the 
tent. 

Saba  arose  at  once,  sniffed  at  her,  and  ex- 
pected the  customary  caress.  At  first  she 
stretched  out  her  hand,  but  drew  it  back  imme- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     233 

diately,  thoroughly  disgusted.  "Stasch,  what 
has  happened?"  said  she. 

"Nothing;  those  two  horses  came  running  up 
here.     Did  their  tramping  awaken  j^ou?" 

"I  was  awake  before,  and  was  just  going  to 
leave  the  tent,  but ". 

"But  what?" 

"I  thought  you  would  be  angry." 

"I!    Angry  with  j^ou?" 

Nell  raised  her  eyes  and  gazed  at  him  with  a 
very  peculiar  expression,  an  expression  he  had 
never  seen  before.  Over  Stasch's  face  then 
passed  a  look  of  surprise,  for  from  her  words 
and  looks  he  saw  that  she  was  terrified. 

"She  is  afraid  of  me,"  thought  he. 

And  for  a  moment  he  even  felt  quite  satis- 
fied. Then  he  thought  that  after  all  he  had 
accomplished  even  Nell — who  did  not  think  of 
him  merely  as  a  full-grown  man,  but  also  as  a 
terrible  warrior,  who  inspires  every  one  with 
fear — should  look  up  at  him  and  caress  him. 
But  this  feeling  of  elation  did  not  last  long,  for 
his  sad  experience  had  taught  him  to  observe 
closely,  and  so  he  noticed  that  the  girl's  restless 
eyes  denoted  not  only  fear,  but  a  certain  repug- 
nance because  of  what  had  occurred,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  blood  that  had  been  shed  and 
the  horrors  that  she  had  witnessed  this  very 
day. 

He  also  immediately  remembered  that  a  mo- 
ment ago  she  had  withdrawn  her  hand  so  as  to 
avoid  stroking  Saba,  for  he  it  was  who  had 


234     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

killed  one  of  the  Bedouins.  Yes,  that  was  the 
reason,  and  did  not  Stasch  himself  feel  it  press- 
ing like  a  nightmare  on  his  chest.  It  was  one 
thing  to  read  at  Port  Said  about  the  American 
trappers  who  killed  the  red-skinned  Indians  by 
the  dozens  in  the  Wild  West,  and  another  thing 
to  do  likewise  one's  self,  and  to  see  men  who 
were  alive  a  short  time  before  expiring  in  their 
last  bloody  agony.  "Yes,  certainly  Nell  is  very 
much  terrified,  and  she  will  always  continue  to 
have  that  feeling  of  repugnance.  I  am  sure 
that  she  will  fear  me,"  thought  Stasch;  "but  in 
her  heart  of  hearts  she  will  unconsciously  never 
forget  to  think  ill  of  what  I  have  done — and 
that  is  to  be  my  reward  for  all  I  have  done  for 
her." 

His  heart  was  bowed  down  by  these  thoughts, 
because  he  knew  very  well  that  if  it  were  not 
for  Nell  he  would  have  been  killed  or  have  fled 
long  ago.  Therefore  it  was  for  her  sake  that 
he  had  suffered  so  much  hunger  and  pain,  which 
only  resulted  in  her  standing  there  frightened, 
changed,  entirely  different  from  the  little  sister 
she  was  before,  and  who  now  raised  her  eyes  to 
his  with  the  old  confiding  look  gone,  and  in  its 
stead  an  expression  of  intense  fear.  Stasch 
suddenly  felt  very  unhappy.  For  the  first 
time  in  his  life  he  realized  what  it  was  to  be 
moved;  unconsciously  the  tears  started  to  his 
eyes,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  fact  that  it 
was  not  at  all  the  proper  thing  for  a  fierce 
warrior  to  weep,  he  would  most  likely  have 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     235 

done  so,  but  he  controlled  himself,  turned  to 
the  girl,  and  asked: 

*'Nell,  are  you  afraid?" 

And  she  answered  softly: 

"It  is  really — so  terrible!" 

Then  Stasch  told  Kali  to  bring  the  rugs  that 
lay  under  the  saddles,  and  after  placing  one  of 
them  over  the  stones  on  which  he  had  dozed 
before,  he  stretched  out  the  second  one  on  the 
ground  and  said : 

"Sit  down  here  by  me  near  the  fire ;  the  night 
is  cold,  isn't  it?  If  you  are  very  sleepy,  rest 
your  little  head  on  me  and  go  to  sleep." 

And  Nell  could  only  answer: 

"It  is  really  too  dreadful." 

Stasch  wrapped  her  up  tenderly  and  care- 
fully in  the  shawl,  and  then  they  sat  there 
silently  for  a  while,  leaning  against  each  other, 
and  illuminated  by  the  ruddy  firelight,  which 
flickered  on  the  rocks  and  shone  on  the  mica 
scales  that  studded  the  slope  of  the  cliff. 

From  the  other  side  of  the  hedge  the  neigh- 
ing of  the  horses  could  be  heard,  and  now  and 
again  the  sound  of  munching,  as  they  chewed 
the  grass  between  their  teeth. 

"Listen,  Nell,"  began  Stasch;  "I  was  obliged 
to  do  what  I  did.  If  the  lion  had  not  been  satis- 
fied in  going  for  Kali,  but  had  followed  our 
party  instead,  Gebhr  threatened  to  stab  us.  Do 
you  understand?  Now  remember  that  he  did 
not  only  threaten  me,  but  you  also,  and  he 
would  have  executed  his  threat,  too.     I  will 


236     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

frankly  tell  you  that  if  this  threat  had  not  been 
made  I  would  not  have  shot  them  even  when  I 
did,  though  I  had  long  contemplated  it.  I  be- 
lieve I  would  not  have  done  it  otherwise.  But 
Gebhr  drove  me  to  the  limit.  Did  you  see  how 
he  tortured  Kali  and  Chamis ;  how  in  the  mean- 
est way  he  betrayed  us  and  sold  us  ?  But  have 
you  the  least  idea  what  would  have  happened  if 
they  had  not  found  Smain  ?  Gebhr  would  then 
have  continually  tortured  me  as  well  as  you.  It 
is  awful  to  think  that  he  beat  you  daily  with  the 
currycomb,  and  would  have  tortured  us  both 
slowly  to  death,  and  after  our  deaths  would 
have  returned  to  Fashoda  and  said  that  we  had 
died  of  the  fever.  Nell,  I  did  not  do  it  to  be 
cruel,  but  I  had  to  think  of  how  I  could  save 
you.    I  was  only  troubled  on  your  account." 

And  in  his  face  there  were  many  traces  of 
the  sadness  that  filled  his  heart.  Nell  saw  and 
understood  this  clearly,  for  she  drew  up  closer 
to  him.  But  he  fought  against  the  momentary 
emotion  and  continued: 

"I  shall  certainly  not  change,  and  I  shall  pro- 
tect and  guide  you  as  before;  but  as  long  as 
they  were  alive  there  was  no  hope  of  delivery. 
Now  we  can  flee  to  Abyssinia.  The  Abyssin- 
ians  are  black  and  savage,  but  are  Christians 
and  are  also  enemies  of  the  Dervishes.  If  you 
keep  well  we  shall  succeed,  as  it  is  not  very  far 
to  Abyssinia.  And  even  if  we  should  not  suc- 
ceed, even  if  we  should  fall  into  Smain's  hands, 
do  not  fear  that  he  will  take  revenge  on  us.    He 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     237 

has  never  in  his  life  seen  Gebhr  or  the  Bedouins; 
he  has  seen  Chamis  only,  but  what  has  Chamis 
to  do  with  him?  In  fact,  we  must  not  even  tell 
Smain  that  Chamis  was  with  us.  If  we  succeed 
in  reaching  Abyssinia  we  are  saved,  and  if  not, 
even  then  you  would  be  better  off  than  now, 
for  surely  there  are  no  more  monsters  like 
these  in  the  world.  Nell,  dear,  don't  be  afraid 
of  me." 

And  to  gain  her  confidence,  and  at  the  same 
time  encourage  her,  he  began  to  stroke  her 
golden  hair.  The  girl  listened,  at  the  same 
time  raising  her  eyes  shyly  to  his,  for  it  was 
evident  that  she  wanted  to  say  something,  but 
held  back,  hesitated,  and  felt  afraid  to  speak. 
At  last  she  bent  her  little  head  down  so  far  that 
her  hair  completely  hid  her  tiny  face,  and  in 
even  softer  tones  than  before  she  said; 

"Stasch,  dear!" 

"What,  my  dearest!" 

"And  they — they  will  not  return?" 

"Who?"  asked  Stasch,  surprised. 

"Those— the  killed." 

"Nell,  what  are  you  saying?" 

"I  am  frightened — I  am  afraid." 

And  her  pale  lips  began  to  tremble. 

Silence  reigned.  Stasch  did  not  believe  that 
the  dead  could  return  to  life,  but  as  it  was 
night  and  their  corpses  lay  quite  near,  he  did 
feel  a  little  uneasy.  Cold  chills  went  down  his 
back. 

"Nell,  what  are  you  saying?"  he  repeated. 


238     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Dinah  must  have  taught  you  to  be  afraid  of 
the  spirits  of  the  dead." 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence,  because  at 
this  moment  something  terrible  happened. 
Suddenly  through  the  dead  silence  of  the  night 
there  rang  forth  from  out  the  depths  of  the 
gorge,  from  the  place  where  the  dead  bodies 
lay,  an  extraordinary,  unearthly,  terrible  laugh- 
ter, betokening  despair,  joy,  cruelty,  sorrow, 
sobs,  and  derision — the  convulsive,  spasmodic 
laughter  of  a  lunatic  or  of  a  condemned  man. 

Nell  shrieked  and  flung  her  arms  round 
Stasch,  and  his  hair  stood  on  end.  Saba  got  up 
suddenly  and  began  to  growl. 

But  Kali  alone,  who  was  quietly  sitting  near 
them,  raised  his  head  calmly  and  said  reas- 
suringly : 

"The  hyenas  are  laughing  over  Gebhr  and 
the  lion." 

CHAPTER    II 

rilHE  important  experience  of  the  day,  now 
-*■  ended,  and  the  impressions  of  that  night, 
had  so  completely  exhausted  Stasch  and  Nell 
that  when  at  last  they  were  overcome  by 
sleep  they  both  slept  so  soundly  that  the  girl 
only  made  her  appearance  outside  the  tent 
about  mid-day;  but  Stasch  arose  somewhat 
earlier  from  the  rug  that  was  stretched  in  front 
of  the  fire,  and  while  waiting  for  his  little  com- 
panion, he  ordered  Kali  to  prepare  breakfast. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     239 

which,  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  hour, 
was  to  serve  at  the  same  time  for  dinner. 

The  bright  dayhght  drove  away  the  appari- 
tions of  the  night,  and  both  awoke  not  only 
rested  in  body,  but  also  refreshed  in  mind.  Nell 
looked  better  and  felt  stronger,  and  as  both 
wished  to  leave  the  place  where  the  Sudanese 
who  had  been  shot  remained,  they  mounted 
their  horses  immediately  after  their  meal  and 
rode  away. 

Generally  at  this  time  of  day  all  travelers  in 
Africa  take  their  mid-day  rest,  and  even  the 
caravans  of  negroes  take  shelter  under  the 
shade  of  large  trees;  these  are,  you  know,  the 
so-called  "white  hours" — hours  of  heat  and 
silence — during  which  the  sun  shines  unmerci- 
fully, looking  down  from  the  sky  as  though 
seeking  for  some  one  to  kill.  Every  animal 
crawls  back  into  the  bushes,  the  song  of  the 
bird  ceases,  the  humming  of  the  insect  stops, 
all  nature  sinks  into  utter  stillness  and  hides, 
as  though  protecting  itself  from  a  cruel  master. 
But  they  rode  along  the  gorge,  one  of  the 
walls  of  which  threw  a  dark  shadow,  so  they 
could  go  forward  without  exposing  themselves 
to  the  heat.  Stasch  did  not  want  to  leave  the 
gorge  for  the  simple  reason  that  if  on  top  they 
could  be  seen  from  afar  by  Smain's  division, 
and  also  because  in  the  hollows  of  the  rocks  it 
would  be  easier  for  them  to  find  water,  which 
trickled  through  the  openings  in  the  ground  or 
dissolved  into  mist  under  the  influence  of  the 


240     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

rays  of  the  sun.  The  road  always  led  imper- 
ceptibly up  hill.  On  the  walls  of  the  cliffs  could 
be  seen  deposits  of  sulphur  from  time  to  time; 
in  consequence  of  which  the  water  in  the  crev- 
ices smelt  of  it,  and  this  reminded  the  two  chil- 
dren very  disagreeably  of  Omdurman  and  the 
Mahdists,  who  rubbed  their  heads  with  a  mix- 
ture of  sulphur  and  grease. 

In  other  places  came  the  musky  odor  of 
civet-cats,  and  cascades  of  lianas  hung  from 
high  promontories  down  to  the  bed  of  the 
gorge,  spreading  a  sickening  smell  of  vanilla. 

The  little  travelers  were  glad  to  halt  in  the 
shadow  of  these  embroidered  curtains  of  purple 
flowers,  whose  leaves  served  as  food  for  the 
horses.  There  were  no  animals  to  be  seen,  ex- 
cept from  time  to  time  monkeys  squatted  on 
the  edges  of  the  rocks,  like  silhouettes  against 
the  sky — resembling  fantastic  African  idols  or 
the  figures  that  adorn  the  corners  of  temples  in 
India.  These  overgrown  men  with  manes 
showed  Saba  their  teeth,  screwed  up  their 
mouths  to  show  their  astonishment  and  anger, 
and  at  the  same  time  hopped,  blinked  their 
eyes,  and  scratched  their  backs.  But  Saba, 
being  quite  accustomed  to  seeing  them,  paid 
little  attention  to  their  threats. 

They  now  made  rapid  progress.  Joy 
over  their  regained  freedom  drove  from 
Stasch's  breast  the  nightmare  that  had  fright- 
ened him  during  the  night.  Now  he  was  only 
disturbed  by  the  thought  as  to  what  course  he 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     241 

should  take  and  how  he  could  guide  Nell  and 
himself  out  of  this  place,  in  which  a  new  im- 
prisonment by  the  Dervishes  threatened  them, 
what  course  thej''  could  plan  to  aid  them  during 
the  long  journey  through  the  desert  to  keep 
them  from  perishing  of  hunger  and  thirst,  and 
lastly,  in  what  direction  they  should  direct  their 
steps.  Stasch  remembered  that,  when  with 
Hatim,  he  heard  that  the  distance  from  Fa- 
shoda  to  the  frontier  of  Abyssinia  was  not  more 
than  five  days'  journey  as  the  bird  flies,  and  he 
reckoned  that  this  would  be  about  one  hundred 
English  miles.  But  it  was  now  two  weeks  since 
they  left  Fashoda ;  it  was  therefore  certain  that 
they  had  not  taken  the  shortest  way,  but  that 
the  search  after  Smain  had  led  them  much  far- 
ther south.  He  remembered  that  on  the  sixth 
day  of  the  journey  they  passed  a  river  which 
was  not  the  Nile,  and  that  then,  before  the 
ground  had  become  hilly,  they  had  ridden  past 
great  swamps. 

In  the  school  at  Port  Said  the  geography 
of  Africa  was  very  thoroughly  and  carefully 
taught,  and  Stasch  remembered  that  in  describ- 
ing Bailors  mention  was  made  of  an  almost  un- 
known stream  that  ran  through  swampy  land — - 
the  Soba  River — and  flowed  into  the  Nile.  He 
was  not  quite  sure  whether  or  not  they  had 
passed  by  this  particular  stream,  but  at  any 
rate  he  thought  they  had.  He  also  remembered 
that  when  Smain  wanted  to  capture  slaves  he 
did  not  seek  them  in  the  eastern  extremity  of 


242     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Fashoda,  as  the  people  of  that  district  had  been 
destroyed  by  the  Dervishes  and  the  smallpox; 
but  he  preferred  the  road  toward  the  south,  in 
districts  which  had  not  been  discovered  by  pre- 
vious expeditions.  Therefore  Stasch  concluded 
that  they  were  probably  following  in  Smain's 
tracks.  This  thought  at  first  frightened  him, 
and  he  began  to  consider  whether  they  ought 
not  to  desert  the  gorge,  which  it  was  plain  con- 
tinued toward  the  south,  and  march  straight 
toward  the  east. 

But  after  some  consideration  he  gave  up  the 
idea;  on  the  contrary,  thought  he,  the  safest 
course  would  be  to  follow  the  footsteps  of 
Smain's  company  at  a  distance  of  two  or  three 
days  behind  them,  for  it  was  quite  uncertain 
whether  Smain  with  his  merchandise  of  human 
beings  would  return  by  the  same  route  instead 
of  taking  the  straight  course  toward  the  Nile. 
Stasch  also  knew  that  Abyssinia  could  be 
reached  only  from  the  south,  where  this  country 
borders  the  desert,  and  not  by  the  eastern  fron- 
tier, which  was  strictly  guarded  by  Dervishes. 
Consequently  he  decided  to  advance  as  far  as 
possible  toward  the  south. 

One  might  very  likely  come  across  negroes 
there,  either  those  who  had  settled  there  or 
those  who  had  taken  refuge  there  from  the 
banks  of  the  White  Nile.  But  if  he  had  to 
choose  between  the  two  evils,  Stasch  would 
rather  deal  with  the  blacks  than  with  the 
Mahdists ;  besides  he  also  reckoned  that,  in  case 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     243 

they  should  strike  fugitives  or  settlers,  Kali 
and  Mea  could  be  of  assistance  to  him.  A  mere 
glance  at  the  negress  showed  that  she  belonged 
to  the  tribe  of  Dinka  or  Schilluk,  for  she  had 
exceptionally  long,  thin  legs  and  large  feet, 
which  are  typical  of  both  these  tribes,  which 
live  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  and  wade  through 
its  bed  like  storks  and  cranes.  Kali,  on  the 
contrary,  although  he  had  become  as  thin  as  a 
skeleton  when  in  Gebhr's  hands,  now  pre- 
sented quite  a  different  aspect.  He  was  small 
and  heavily  built,  had  strong  arms,  and,  in  com- 
parison with  Mea,  proportionately  short  legs 
and  small  feet. 

As  Kali  did  not  understand  a  word  of  Ara- 
bian, and  only  spoke  the  Ki-swahili  language 
very  badly  (a  knowledge  of  which  will  make 
one  understood  nearly  everywhere  throughout 
Africa,  and  which  Stasch  had  practically 
learned  from  the  Zanzibar  negroes  working  on 
the  canal),  it  was  evident  that  he  came  from 
some  remote  district. 

Stasch  therefore  decided  to  ask  him  where 
he  did  come  from. 

"Kali,  what  is  the  name  of  your  nation?"  he 
inquired. 

"Wa-hima,"  the  young  negro  answered. 

"Is  it  a  great  nation?" 

**A  very  great  one,  which  wages  war  with 
the  wicked  Samburu,  and  captures  their 
cattle." 

"And  where  is  your  village?" 


244     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Far  away,  far  away — Kali  does  not  know 
where  it  is." 

"In  a  land  like  this?" 

"No.  In  that  country  there  is  a  great  body 
of  water  and  also  mountains." 

"What  is  the  name  of  this  sheet  of  water?" 

"We  call  it  'The  Great  Water.'  " 

Stasch  thought  that  perhaps  the  boy  had 
come  from  the  Albert  Nyanza  district,  which 
until  the  present  time  was  in  Emin  Pasha's 
hands,  and  to  make  sure  of  this  he  inquired 
further. 

"Doesn't  a  white  chief  live  there  who  has 
black  smoking  ships  and  soldiers?" 

"No;  the  old  people  tell  us  that  they  have 
seen  white  people,"  and  with  this  Kali  raised 
his  fingers,  counting  one,  two,  three.  "Kali  has 
never  seen  them,  because  he  was  not  born  there, 
but  Kali's  father  received  them  and  gave  them 
many  cows." 

"What  is  your  father?" 

"King  of  the  Wa-hima." 

Stasch  was  not  a  little  flattered  at  the 
thought  that  he  had  a  prince  for  his 
servant. 

"Would  you  like  to  see  your  father?" 

"Kali  wants  to  see  his  mother." 

"And  what  would  you  do  if  we  met  Wa-hima 
people?    And  what  would  they  do?" 

"The  Wa-hima  would  fall  on  their  faces  be- 
fore Kali." 

"Then  conduct  us  to  them  and  you  can  stay 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     245 

with  them  and  reign  as  your  father's  heir,  and 
we  will  ride  on  toward  the  sea." 

"Kali  will  not  meet  them  and  will  not  stay- 
there,  for  Kali  loves  the  'Great  Man'  and  the 
'Daughter  of  the  Moon.'  " 

Stasch  turned  round  cheerfully  to  his  com- 
panion and  said: 

"Nell,  you  have  become  a  Daughter  of  the 
Moon." 

But  as  he  looked  at  her  he  suddenly  became 
sad,  for  it  struck  him  that  the  little  maid,  who 
had  suffered  greatly  from  the  fatigue  of  the 
journej^  with  her  pale,  transparent  face  in  re- 
ality looked  more  like  an  inhabitant  of  the  moon 
than  a  dweller  on  this  earth. 

The  young  negro  also  remained  silent  for  a 
moment,  then  he  continued: 

"Kali  loves  Bwana  Kubwa,  for  Bwana 
Kubwa  did  not  kill  Kali — only  Gebhr  killed 
him — he  gave  Kali  plenty  to  eat." 

And  he  stroked  his  chest  and  stomach  and 
repeated  with  visible  delight: 

"Plenty  of  meat,  plenty  of  meat." 

Stasch  would  have  liked  to  find  out  how 
the  boy  had  been  imprisoned  by  the  Dervishes, 
but  it  turned  out  that  on  a  certain  night  after 
he  had  been  captured  in  one  of  the  trenches  dug 
to  entrap  zebras,  he  had  already  been  through 
so  many  hands  that  one  could  not  decide  from 
his  answer  through  what  countries  and  by  what 
route  he  had  at  last  reached  Fashoda.  Stasch 
was  impressed  by  what  he  said  about  the  "Great 


246      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Water,"  for  if  he  had  come  from  the  district 
of  Albert  Nyanza,  Albert  Edward  Nyanza,  or 
even  from  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  round  which 
the  kingdoms  of  Unyoro  and  Uganda  lie,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  heard  something  of 
Emin  Pasha,  his  soldiers,  and  steamers,  which 
raised  consternation  and  fear  in  the  minds  of 
the  negroes.  The  Tanganyika  was  too  far  dis- 
tant, and  so  the  only  supposition  that  remained 
was  that  Kali's  race  must  have  its  home  some- 
where in  the  vicinity  of  the  waters  of  Rudolf 
and  Stefanie.  These  lands  were  also  fairly 
remote,  but  the  expedition  was  at  least  half 
way  on  its  journey,  so  while  the  lands  could  not 
be  said  to  be  very  near  Fashoda,  still  they  were 
near  the  place  where  the  travelers  now  were — 
and  it  was  quite  possible  that  they  might  meet 
the  Wa-hima. 

After  a  ride  of  many  hours  the  sun  began  to 
set,  and  the  heat  had  abated  considerably.  They 
reached  a  wide  plain,  where  there  was  water 
and  where  wild  figs  grew,  so  they  made  a  halt 
to  give  the  horses  a  rest  and  to  refresh  them- 
selves with  food.  As  the  walls  of  the  cliffs  were 
lower  at  this  point,  Stasch  ordered  Kali  to 
climb  up  and  look  around  to  see  if  there  was 
any  smoke. 

Kali  obeyed,  and  was  soon  on  the  edge  of 
the  cliffs.  He  carefully  noticed  everything  on 
all  sides  and  then  slid  down  on  a  thick  liana, 
and  said  that  there  was  no  smoke,  but  '*Nyama." 
It  was  easy  to  guess  that  he  did  not  mean  birds, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     247 

but  some  kind  of  big  game,  for  he  pointed  to 
Stasch's  rifle  and  then  put  his  finger  to  his 
head  as  a  sign  that  they  were  horned  animals. 

Then  Stasch  climbed  the  height,  and  care- 
fully raising  his  head  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff, 
began  to  look  around. 

Nothing  interrupted  the  view,  for  the  high 
jungle  had  been  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  new 
one,  shooting  forth  from  the  charred  earth,  was 
scarcely  a  foot  high.  All  around  as  far  as  eye 
could  reach  were  scattered  tall  trees  still  grow- 
ing, whose  trunks  had  been  scorched  by  the 
flames.  In  the  shade  of  one  of  these  trees  a 
herd  of  antelope  was  grazing,  their  bodies 
resembling  horses  and  their  heads  buffaloes. 
The  sunlight  peering  through  the  branches 
made  bright  spots  of  light  on  their  brown  backs. 

There  were  nine  of  them,  and  they  were  not 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  away.  As  the  wind 
was  blowing  from  the  animals  toward  the  ra- 
vine, they  continued  feeding  quietly,  fearing 
no  danger.  Stasch,  who  was  desirous  of  pro- 
viding meat  for  the  caravan,  fired  upon  the 
nearest  animal,  which  fell  as  though  struck  by 
lightning.  The  others  fled,  and  with  them  a 
huge  buffalo,  which  they  had  not  seen  before, 
because  it  had  been  hidden  by  a  large  stone. 
The  boy's  pride  as  a  huntsman  was  aroused, 
and  waiting  for  the  animal  to  turn  round,  he 
sent  a  bullet  through  it.  The  buflPalo  swayed 
heavily  as  soon  as  it  was  hit,  and  ran  off;  and 
before  Stasch  was  able  to  change  his  cartridges 


248     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

it  had  disappeared  behind  a  hillock.  Before  the 
smoke  had  cleared  away  Kali  ran  to  the  ante- 
lope and  ripped  it  open  with  Gebhr's  knife. 
Stasch  went  up  to  him  to  get  a  nearer  view 
of  the  animal,  and  was  much  surprised  when 
the  young  negro  took  the  liver  of  the  antelope, 
which  was  still  warm,  in  his  blood-stained 
hands  and  presented  it  to  him. 

"Why  do  you  give  it  to  me?"  said  he. 

"Msuri!  Msuri!  Bwana  Kubwa,  eat  now." 

"Eat  it  yourself,"  answered  Stasch,  dis- 
gusted at  the  suggestion. 

Kali  did  not  wait  to  be  told  twice.  He  at 
once  began  to  tear  the  liver  to  pieces  with  his 
teeth  and  greedily  swallow  the  raw  bits.  But 
seeing  that  Stasch  looked  at  him  with  disgust, 
he  did  not  stop  between  mouthfuls,  but  con- 
tinually repeated,  "Msuri!   Msuri!" 

After  Kali  had  eaten  more  than  half  the 
liver,  he  began  skinning  the  antelope,  which  he 
did  very  quickly  and  so  dexterously  that  the 
skin  was  soon  removed.  Stasch  was  surprised 
that  Saba  was  not  there  to  help  in  this  work,  so 
he  whistled  to  invite  him  to  the  feast. 

Saba  did  not  come,  but  Kali,  who  was  bend- 
ing over  the  antelope,  looked  up  and  said: 

"The  big  dog  has  gone  after  the  buffalo." 

"Did  you  see  him?"  said  Stasch. 

"Kali  saw  it." 

As  he  said  this  he  lifted  the  body  of  the  ante- 
lope with  both  hands,  and  placing  it  upon  his 
shoulder,  he  went  off  toward  the  gorge. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     249 

Stasch  whistled  once  more  and  waited,  but 
as  he  found  that  it  was  of  no  avail,  he  followed 
Kali.  In  the  gorge  they  found  Mea  busily  cut- 
ting thorns  from  the  hedge,  and  Nell,  who  was 
plucking  their  last  bird  with  her  tiny  fingers, 
said: 

"Did  you  whistle  for  Saba?    He  ran  after 

you." 

"He  ran  after  a  buffalo  which  I  shot  and  I 
am  worried  about  him,"  answered  Stasch. 
"These  animals  are  so  large  and  powerful  that 
even  a  lion  is  afraid  to  attack  them.  If  Saba 
should  try  to  fight  one  of  them  he  would  fare 
badly." 

When  Nell  heard  this  she  was  worried  also, 
and  declared  that  she  would  not  go  to  bed  until 
Saba  returned.  When  Stasch  saw  how  grieved 
she  was  he  felt  angry  with  himself  for  not  hav- 
ing concealed  the  danger  from  her,  and  he  tried 
to  console  her. 

"I  would  have  followed  them  with  my  rifle, 
but  now  they  must  be  far  away ;  besides,  night 
is  approaching  and  their  trail  can  not  be  seen. 
The  buffalo  was  hit  squarely,  and  I  hope  it  will 
fall.  At  any  rate,  it  will  be  so  much  exhausted 
from  loss  of  blood  that  even  if  it  were  to  fall 
upon  Saba,  the  dog  could  run  away  in  time. 
Yes,  he  may  not  return  till  night,  but  he  will 
surely  return." 

Stasch  himself  did  not  believe  what  he  said, 
because  he  remembered  what  he  had  heard 
about  the  vindictiveness  of  the  African  buffalo, 


250     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

which,  even  when  severely  wounded,  runs  round 
in  a  circle  and  watches  to  see  which  way  the 
hunter  goes,  so  as  to  attack  him  unawares,  toss- 
ing him  high  in  the  air  with  its  horns.  Quite 
likely  Saba  might  have  met  with  a  similar  fate, 
besides  other  dangers  to  which  he  might  be 
subjected  in  his  journey  by  night. 

As  soon  as  it  had  become  dark  Kali  and  Mea 
managed  to  make  a  hedge  fence,  light  a  fire, 
and  get  supper  ready.  But  even  then  there 
was  no  sign  of  Saba. 

Nell  became  very  uneasy  and  began  to  cry. 
Stasch  insisted  on  her  lying  down  and  going 
to  sleep,  and  he  promised  her  to  wait  up  for 
Saba  and  to  look  for  him  and  bring  him  back 
as  soon  as  daylight  appeared.  Nell  entered  the 
tent,  but  thrust  out  her  little  head  continually 
to  inquire  if  the  dog  had  returned.  She  did  not 
fall  asleep  till  after  midnight,  when  Mea  left 
the  tent  to  relieve  Kali,  who  until  now  had 
watched  by  the  fire. 

"Whj^  does  the  Daughter  of  the  Moon  cry?" 
asked  Kali,  and  Stasch,  as  they  both  lay  down 
on  thin  wooden  benches  to  sleep,  said : 

"She  is  worried,  fearing  that  Saba  is  killed 
by  the  buffalo." 

"Perhaps  he  has  killed  it,"  answered  the 
young  negro. 

Then  they  stopped  talking  and  Stasch  went 
fast  asleep.  He  awoke  while  it  was  still  dark 
because  it  had  become  colder.  Mea,  who  was 
supposed  to  be  on  the  watch,  had  fallen  asleep, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     251 

and  so  it  had  been  some  time  since  she  had  put 
dry  wood  on  the  expiring  flames. 

No  one  was  lying  upon  the  felt  quilt  on 
which  Kali  had  slept. 

Stasch  threw  firewood  on  the  glowing  ashes, 
nudged  the  negress  and  asked: 

"Where's  Kah?" 

For  a  time  she  stared  at  him  as  though  in  a 
trance,  and  then,  when  wide  awake,  she  said: 

"Kali  has  taken  Gebhr's  knife  and  gone  out- 
side of  the  hedge.  I  thought  he  went  to  get 
more  wood  for  the  fire,  but  he  has  not  returned 

yet." 

"Has  he  been  gone  a  long  while?" 

"Yes,  a  long  while." 

Stasch  waited  some  time,  but  as  the  negro 
did  not  return,  he  reluctantly  asked  himself, 
"Could  he  have  run  away?" 

He  felt  a  pain  in  his  heart  like  that  experi- 
enced by  those  who  have  met  with  ingratitude. 
He  had  befriended  Kali  and  protected  him 
when  Gebhr  tortured  him  daily,  and  had  even- 
tually saved  his  life.  Nell  always  liked  him, 
she  wept  over  his  misfortunes,  and  they  both 
were  as  kind  as  could  be  to  him,  and  yet  he  had 
now  run  away !  He  often  said  that  he  had  no 
idea  in  which  direction  the  settlements  of  the 
Wa-hima  lay,  and  that  he  could  not  find  his 
way  there — and  still  he  had  run  away. 

Stasch  again  remembered  the  description  of 
travels  in  Africa  which  he  had  read  in  Port 
Said,  the  accounts  of  the  travelers,  the  stupid- 


252     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ity  of  the  negroes  in  throwing  away  the  lug- 
gage and  deserting — for  even  if  threatened 
with  the  punishment  of  certain  death  they  did 
so  just  the  same.  Evidently  Kali,  whose  only 
weapon  was  a  Sudanese  sword,  would  succumb 
to  starvation  or  be  recaptured  by  the  Der- 
vishes, unless  devoured  by  wild  beasts, 

"Oh,  the  ungrateful  wretch!  And  what  a 
fool!" 

Stasch  seriously  began  to  think  how  much 
more  difficult  the  journey  would  be  for  them 
without  Kali  and  how  much  more  heavily  the 
work  would  fall  on  the  others.  To  water  the 
horses  and  tie  them  for  the  night,  to  put  up  the 
tent  and  the  hedge,  to  guard  the  luggage  and 
to  see  that  the  provisions  were  not  lost,  to  skin 
and  cut  up  the  slain  animals,  all  duties  which 
Kali  had  performed,  would,  through  loss  of  the 
negro,  fall  to  his  share,  and  he  was  obliged  to 
confess  to  himself  that  he  had  no  definite  idea 
how  to  do  many  of  these  things,  as,  for  in- 
stance, skinning  animals. 

"Well,  what  else  can  I  do?"  said  he.  "It  will 
have  to  be  done." 

Meanwhile  the  sun  appeared  above  the 
horizon,  and,  as  is  always  the  case  at  the 
equator,  it  was  daylight  in  a  minute.  A  little 
after  this  the  water  in  the  tent,  that  Mea  had 
prepared  for  the  little  lady  to  wash  in,  began  to 
splash,  by  which  Stasch  knew  that  Nell  had 
arisen  and  that  she  was  dressing.  Somewhat 
later  she  appeared  completely  dressed,  but  with 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     253 

her  comb  in  her  hands  and  her  hair  not  ar- 
ranged. 

"What  about  Saba?"  asked  she. 

"He  has  not  returned  yet." 

The  corners  of  the  girl's  mouth  began  to 
tremble. 

"Perhaps  he  will  come  back  yet,"  said  Stasch. 
"You  remember  that  sometimes  in  the  desert 
he  was  missing  for  two  whole  days,  and  yet  he 
always  came  back  to  us." 

"You  said  that  you  were  going  to  look  for 
him." 

"I  can't." 

"Why  not,  Stasch?" 

"Because  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  leave 
you  alone  with  Mea." 

"AndKaU?" 

"Kali  is  not  here." 

He  drew  back,  debating  with  himself  whether 
or  not  he  ought  to  tell  her  the  whole  truth ;  but 
as  it  would  be  impossible  to  hide  it,  he  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  better  to  tell  her  every- 
thing. 

"Kali  has  taken  Gebhr's  sword,"  he  said, 
"and  he  went  away  during  the  night,  no  one 
knows  where.  Who  can  tell  ?  He  may  have  run 
away.  Negroes  often  do  this,  even  to  their 
own  detriment.  I  am  sorry — but  perhaps  he 
will  now  see  that  he  has  acted  foolishly 
and " 

The  next  words  were  drowned  by  Saba's 
joyful  bark,  which  penetrated  the  gorge.    Nell 


254     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

threw  down  the  comb  and  tried  to  run  toward 
him,  but  the  thorns  in  the  hedge  prevented  her. 

Stasch  at  once  began  to  tear  down  a  part  of 
the  hedge,  but  before  he  had  succeeded  in  even 
making  a  passage  Saba  appeared,  and  behind 
him  Kali,  shining  and  wet  with  dew  as  though 
soaked  through  by  a  very  heavy  shower. 

Both  children  were  overcome  with  joy,  and 
as  soon  as  Kali,  who  was  so  fatigued  from 
his  exertions  that  he  could  scarcely  get  his 
breath,  reached  the  inside  of  the  hedge,  Nell 
threw  her  little  arms  around  his  black  neck, 
hugging  him  tight. 

"Kali  does  not  like  to  see  the  Bibi  cry,"  he 
said,  "so  Kali  looked  for  the  dog  and  found 
him." 

"Good  Kali,"  cried  Stasch,  patting  him  on 
the  shoulder;  "and  were  you  not  afraid  that 
you  would  meet  a  lion  or  a  leopard  during  the 
night?" 

"Kali  afraid,  but  Kali  go,"  answered  the 
young  man. 

These  words  endeared  him  still  more  to  the 
children.  At  Nell's  request  Stasch  took  from 
one  of  the  bundles  a  string  of  glass  beads  which 
the  Greek  Kaliopuli  had  given  them  when 
they  left  Omdurman,  and  placed  them  around 
Kali's  neck.  He  was  delighted  with  the  gift, 
and  looking  proudly  at  Mea,  said : 

"Mea  has  no  glass  beads,  but  Kali  has,  for 
Kali  is  'Great  World.'  " 

In  this  way  the  sacrifice  of  the  black  boy  was 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     255 

rewarded.  Saba,  on  the  contrary,  received  a 
severe  reprimand,  from  which  he  was  made  to 
understand  for  the  second  time  during  the 
period  he  had  been  with  Nell,  that  he  was  very- 
naughty  and  that  if  he  ever  did  such  a  thing 
again  he  would  be  led  by  a  leash  like  a  small 
dog.  He  listened  to  this  sermon  while  wagging 
his  tail  with  rather  a  double  meaning.  But 
Nell  was  sure  that  she  saw  by  the  expression 
of  his  eyes  that  he  was  ashamed,  and  that  he 
had  really  blushed  for  shame,  but  that  could 
not  be  perceived,  because  his  cheeks  were  cov- 
ered with  hair. 

Then  breakfast  followed,  and  during  this 
meal  Kali  recounted  his  adventures,  and  Stasch 
translated  them  into  English  for  Nell,  who  did 
not  understand  the  Ki-swahili  language.  It  so 
happened  that  the  buffalo  had  run  very  far  off, 
and  it  had  been  difficult  for  Kali  to  find  his 
trail,  for  there  was  no  moon  that  night.  As 
good  luck  would  have  it,  it  had  rained  two  days 
before,  and  the  earth  was  not  very  hard ;  there- 
fore the  feet  of  the  heavy  animal  had  made 
their  impress  in  the  wet  earth.  Kali  searched 
for  the  trail  by  observing  the  cleft  in  the  hoofs, 
and  followed  his  footprints  for  some  time.  At 
last  the  buffalo  stumbled  and  must  have  fallen 
over  dead,  for  there  were  no  traces  of  a  struggle 
between  him  and  Saba.  When  Kali  found 
them  Saba  had  already  eaten  the  largest  part 
of  one  of  his  forefeet,  but  although  he  could 
not  eat  any  more  himself,  he  would  not  permit 


256     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

two  hyenas  and  several  jackals,  that  stood 
round  and  waited  until  the  stronger  animal  of 
prey  had  had  his  fill  and  gone  away,  to  ap- 
proach the  meat. 

The  boy  complained  that  the  dog  had  even 
growled  at  him,  but  then  he  threatened  him 
with  the  displeasure  of  the  "Great  Man"  and 
"Bibi,"  caught  him  by  the  collar,  dragged  him 
away  from  the  buffalo,  and  did  not  let  him 
loose  until  he  reached  the  gorge. 

With  this,  the  story  of  Kali's  adventures  by 
night  ended,  then  they  all  mounted  their  horses 
and  rode  on  contentedly. 

All  but  the  long-legged  Mea,  who,  although 
quiet  and  submissive,  looked  enviously  at  the 
necklace  adorning  the  throat  of  the  young 
negro  and  on  Saba's  collar,  and  thought  sadly 
to  herself: 

"They  are  both  'Great  World,'  but  I  have 
only  a  ring  on  one  foot." 

CHAPTER   III 

"TAuRiNG  the  three  following  days  they  con- 
'*--'  tinually  traveled  through  the  gorge  and, 
as  it  so  happened,  always  up  hill.  The  days 
were  unusually  warm,  the  nights  alternately 
cold  and  sultry.  The  rainy  season  was  ap- 
proaching; here  and  there  milk-white  clouds 
heavy  with  rain  hung  low  down  close  to  the 
horizon.  Occasionally  strips  of  rain  could  be 
seen,  and  far  off  was  a  rainbow.    On  the  morn- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     257 

ing  of  the  third  day  one  of  these  clouds  burst 
over  their  heads  hke  a  broken  cask  whose  hoops 
had  sprung  and  deluged  them  with  warm  rain, 
but  as  good  luck  would  have  it,  it  did  not  last 
long,  and  then  the  weather  was  fine  once  more, 
and  they  were  able  to  continue  their  journey. 
Now  birds  appeared  in  such  quantities  that 
Stasch  could  shoot  and  bring  down  five  of  them 
without  dismounting,  which  more  than  sufficed 
for  one  meal  and  also  enough  for  Saba.  Rid- 
ing in  the  brisk  air  was  not  at  all  fatiguing,  and 
a  quantity  of  wild  game  and  plenty  of  water 
removed  all  fear  of  hunger  and  thirst.  They 
were  getting  along  so  well  that  Stasch  was 
always  good-natured,  and  while  riding  by  the 
side  of  the  girl  he  talked  cheerfully  with  her, 
and  even  joked  occasionally. 

"Nell,  do  you  know,"  said  he,  as  they  halted 
for  a  short  time  under  a  big  breadfruit  tree, 
from  which  Kali  and  Mea  cut  oflp  large  melon- 
shaped  fruits,  "it  sometimes  seems  to  me  as 
though  I  were  a  wandering  knight." 

"And  what  is  a  wandering  knight?"  asked 
Nell,  turning  her  pretty  little  face  toward 
him: 

"A  long,  long  time  ago,  in  the  Middle  Ages, 
there  were  such  knights,  who  rode  about  the 
country  looking  for  adventures.  They  fought 
with  giants  and  dragons — and  do  you  know 
each  one  had  his  lady,  whom  he  protected  and 
defended." 

"And  am  I  such  a  lady?" 


258     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Stasch  thought  a  moment  and  then  an- 
swered : 

"No;  you  are  too  young  for  that.  Those 
ladies  were  grown  up " 

And  the  idea  never  struck  him  that  perhaps 
never  had  wandering  knight  ever  served  lady  so 
faithfully  as  he  had  his  little  sister.  He  took 
everything  that  he  had  done  for  her  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course. 

But  Nell  felt  hurt  by  his  words,  and  screw- 
ing up  her  mouth  into  a  pout,  she  said: 

"You  once  told  me  in  the  desert  that  I  acted 
like  a  big  girl  of  thirteen.     Ah!" 

"Only  once;  but  you  are  merely  eight  years 
old." 

"But  in  ten  years  I  shall  be  eighteen." 

"Oh,  that  is  a  great  while  off,  and  then  I 
shall  be  twenty-four,  but  at  that  age  a  man 
does  not  think  about  any  lady,  for  he  has  some- 
thing quite  different  to  think  of  then;  that  is 
very  evident." 

"And  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"By  that  time  I  shall  be  an  engineer  or  a 
mariner,  or,  if  war  were  to  break  out  in  Poland, 
I  should  travel  there,  to  fight  as  my  father 
fought." 

Then  she  asked  uneasily: 

"But  will  you  positively  return  to  Port 
Said?" 

"For  the  present  we  both  must  return  there." 

"To  our  little  papa,"  sighed  the  girl. 

And  immediately  her  eyes  were  veiled  by 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     259 

sadness  and  homesickness.  As  good  luck  would 
have  it,  a  swarm  of  beautiful  gray  parrots,  with 
pink  heads  and  rose-colored  down  under  their 
wings,  flew  toward  them.  The  children  imme- 
diately forgot  what  they  had  been  talking 
about,  and  their  eyes  followed  the  flight  of  the 
birds. 

The  flock  of  parrots  flew  over  a  group  of 
Euphorbia  and  came  down  upon  a  neighboring 
sycamore,  through  the  branches  of  which  could 
be  heard  voices  that  sounded  like  a  chattering 
council,  or  a  terrible  quarrel. 

"These  are  the  parrots  that  learn  to  speak 
the  most  readily,"  said  Stasch.  "As  soon  as 
we  make  a  longer  halt  I  will  do  my  best  to  try 
to  catch  one  for  you." 

"Oh,  Stasch,  I  thank  you,"  cried  Nell  joy- 
fully.   "I  will  call  him  'Daisy.'  " 

Mea  and  Kali,  who  meanwhile  had  been 
plucking  the  fruit  from  a  breadfruit  tree,  now 
loaded  up  the  horses  with  them,  and  the  little 
caravan  continued  on  its  way. 

In  the  afternoon  it  clouded  over  again,  and 
several  times  there  was  a  short  shower  that 
filled  all  the  crevices  in  the  ground  with  water. 
Kali  prophesied  a  heavy  storm,  and  it  occurred 
to  Stasch  that  in  this  case  the  gorge,  which  had 
become  narrower  and  narrower,  would  not  be 
a  safe  resting-place  for  the  night,  as  it  would 
most  likely  become  the  bed  of  the  stream.  So 
he  decided  to  spend  the  night  above  the  gorge, 
and  Nell  was  delighted  at  this,  especially  when 


260     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Kali,  who  had  been  sent  out  to  reconnoiter, 
returned,  announcing  that  not  far  from  where 
they  were  was  a  forest  of  many  kinds  of  trees, 
in  which  Httle  monkeys  were  disporting  them- 
selves; but  these  monkeys  were  not  ugly  and 
vicious  as  those  they  had  seen  before.  There- 
fore as  soon  as  they  struck  a  place  where  the 
walls  of  the  cliff  were  low  and  not  too  steep 
they  led  the  horses  up,  and  when  it  was  dark 
they  prepared  for  night.  Nell's  tent  was  put 
up  in  a  somewhat  higher  and  drier  place  un- 
derneath a  large  ant-hill,  which  completely 
barred  the  entrance  from  one  side  and  strength- 
ened the  hedge  that  led  toward  it. 

In  the  vicinity  stood  an  enormous  tree  with 
wide-spreading  branches  and  heavy  foliage, 
which  would  shelter  them  sufficiently  from  the 
rain.  In  front  of  the  hedge  grew  scattered 
groups  of  trees,  and  further  off  was  a  dense 
woods  filled  with  underbrush,  above  which 
could  be  seen  the  tops  of  strange  palms  re- 
sembling giant  fans  spread  out  like  the  tail  of  a 
peacock. 

Stasch  learned  from  Kali  that  before  the 
beginning  of  the  second  rainy  season — that  is 
in  autumn — it  is  dangerous  to  spend  the  night 
under  these  palms,  because  the  huge  fruit 
ripens,  breaks  off  when  least  expected,  and 
falls  from  its  great  height  with  such  force  that 
it  might  Idll  a  human  being,  or  even  a  horse. 
But  at  the  present  time  the  fruit  had  not  ma- 
tured.     Before    the    sun    went    down    little 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     261 

monkeys  could  be  seen  in  the  distance  scram- 
bling and  plaj^fully  chasing  one  another  in  the 
tree-tops. 

Stasch  and  Kali  collected  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  wood  for  the  night,  and  as  occasional 
heavy  waves  of  hot  air  blew  toward  them,  they 
fastened  down  the  hedge  with  pegs,  which  the 
young  negro  whittled  with  Gebhr's  sword,  and 
drove  into  the  ground.  This  precaution  was 
very  necessary,  for  the  strong  wind  might  break 
and  tear  down  the  thorn  branches  out  of  which 
the  hedge  was  made,  and  thus  make  it  easy  for 
wild  animals  to  attack  them. 

Soon  after  the  sun  went  down  the  wind 
stopped  suddenly,  but  on  the  other  hand  the 
air  had  become  heavy  and  sultry.  In  the  spaces 
between  the  clouds  stars  appeared  occasionally, 
but  later  complete  darkness  settled  down,  so 
that  one  could  hardly  see  a  foot  in  advance. 
The  little  wanderers  grouped  themselves 
around  the  fire  and  listened  to  the  chatter  and 
screams  of  the  monkeys,  which  were  making 
a  perfect  pandemonium.  In  the  neighboring 
woods  the  howls  of  the  jackals  and  other 
strange  sounds — through  which  could  be  heard 
the  restlessness  and  the  fear  of  that  which  under 
the  veil  of  darkness  in  the  wilderness  threatens 
every  human  being — united  to  form  an  appro- 
priate accompaniment. 

Suddenly  the  stillness  became  intense,  and  in 
the  darkness  the  growl  of  a  lion  was  heard. 

The  horses,  which  were  grazing  nearby  in 


262     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  short  jungle  grass,  began  to  approach  the 
light  of  the  fire  by  hopping  with  their  chained 
front  feet,  and  even  then  the  hair  of  Saba,  who 
was  usually  so  courageous,  bristled,  and  he 
crouched  in  front  of  his  master  with  his  tail 
drawn  down,  obviously  seeking  protection. 
The  growl  sounded  again,  this  time  as  if  com- 
ing from  the  bowels  of  the  earth ;  it  was  a  deep, 
heavy,  long-drawn  sigh,  as  if  the  animal  had 
let  it  out  of  its  powerful  lungs  with  difficulty. 
The  sound  rolled  on  glidingly  close  to  the 
ground,  sometimes  louder,  sometimes  softer, 
then  becoming  a  deep,  hollow,  unearthly  sigh. 

"Kali,  put  more  wood  on  the  fire,"  cried 
Stasch. 

The  negro  threw  an  armful  of  branches  on 
the  fire  with  such  haste  and  force  that  at  first 
nothing  but  sparks  ascended;  then  the  flame 
blazed  forth. 

"The  lion  will  not  attack  us,  will  he,  Stasch?" 
whispered  Nell,  pulling  the  boy  by  the  sleeve. 

"No,  he  will  not  attack  us.  Look  how  high 
the  hedge  is " 

As  he  said  this  he  positively  thought  that 
they  were  in  no  danger,  but  still  he  was  worried 
about  the  horses,  which  pressed  nearer  and 
nearer  the  hedge  and  threatened  to  tread  it 
down. 

Meanwhile  the  sighing  changed  into  a  long- 
drawn-out  thundering  roar,  enough  to  terrify 
any  human  being,  for  even  creatures  who  know 
no  fear  tremble  from  head  to  foot,  shaking 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     263 

like  panes  of  glass  at  the  report  of  far-off 
cannon. 

Stasch  threw  a  hurried  glance  at  Nell,  and 
seeing  her  quivering  mouth  and  moist  eyes,  he 
said: 

"Don't  be  frightened.    Don't  cry." 

She  answered  under  a  great  strain: 

"I  don't  want  to  cry,  but  my  eyes  perspire 
so— oh!" 

The  last  scream  escaped  from  her  lips  be- 
cause at  that  moment  a  second  roar,  far  more 
powerful  and  much  nearer  than  the  first,  rang 
out  from  the  forest.  The  horses  began  to  push 
themselves  still  nearer  the  hedge,  and  if  the 
long,  steel-like  prickles  of  the  acacia  branches 
had  not  hindered  them  they  would  have  broken 
through.  Saba  growled  and  trembled  like  an 
ivy  leaf,  and  Kali  began  to  repeat  in  a  broken 
voice : 

"Sir!   Two!   Two!   Two!" 

As  the  lions  were  now  responding  to  each 
other,  they  continued  to  roar,  and  this  awful 
concert  kept  up  for  some  time  in  the  darkness, 
for  as  soon  as  one  of  the  animals  ceased  the 
other  began.  Stasch  was  unable  to  distinguish 
from  what  direction  their  voices  came,  for 
the  echoes  repeated  them  over  and  over  in 
the  gorge  and  reverberated  from  cliff  to  cliff, 
sounded  above  and  beneath,  filled  the  forest 
and  the  jungle,  saturating  the  darkness  with 
thunder  and  with  fear. 

Only  one  thing  seemed  to  the  boy  to  be  quite 


264     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

certain,  and  that  was  that  the  beasts  were 
surely  approaching.  Kali  also  noticed  that  the 
lions  were  creeping  round  the  bivouac,  ap- 
proaching in  smaller  circles,  and  he  also  noticed 
that,  being  kept  from  attacking  them  by  the 
fire,  they  were  expressing  their  displeasure  and 
fear  by  emitting  these  dreadful  sounds. 

He  also  seemed  to  think  that  only  the  horses 
were  in  danger,  for  he  said,  as  he  counted  on 
his  fingers: 

"The  lions  will  kill  one,  two;  not  all,  not 
all!" 

"Throw  wood  on  the  fire,"  repeated  Stasch. 

Again  a  bigger  flame  burst  forth,  and  sud- 
denly the  roars  ceased.  But  Kali  raised  his 
head  and  began  to  listen. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Stasch. 

"Rain "  answered  the  negro. 

Now  Stasch  also  pricked  up  his  ears.  The 
branches  of  the  trees  served  as  a  roof  for  the 
tent,  and  also  for  the  entire  hedge,  and  there- 
fore not  a  single  drop  fell  to  the  ground,  but  it 
could  be  heard  pattering  on  the  leaves  above 
them. 

As  there  was  not  a  breath  of  even  the  sultry 
air  stirring,  it  was  easy  to  conjecture  that  it 
was  pouring  in  the  thicket. 

The  sound  increased  moment  by  moment, 
and  after  a  little  while  the  children  perceived 
drops  descending  from  the  leaves,  drops  of  rain 
that  looked  like  large  rosy  pearls  in  the  fire- 
light.   As  Kali  had  prophesied,  a  terrific  storm 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     265 

had  come  up.  The  sound  of  the  storm  in- 
creased until  it  became  a  wild  roar.  Rain  fell 
faster  and  faster,  and  at  last  great  streams 
of  water  penetrated  the  thicket.  The  fire  was 
going  out.  Kali  threw  on  fagots  to  no  effect. 
The  wet  branches  only  smoldered,  the  black- 
ened wood  beneath  crackled,  and  after  a  feeble 
flicker  the  flames  died  away. 

"Though  the  pelting  rain  drown  the  fire,  the 
hedge  will  still  protect  us,"  said  Stasch  to 
calm  Nell. 

Then  he  led  the  little  girl  within  the  tent  and 
covered  her  with  a  shawl,  after  which  he  went 
out  again  at  once,  for  he  heard  a  short  roar. 
This  time  it  seemed  much  nearer,  and  in  it 
there  was  a  note  of  triumph. 

Every  second  the  storm  increased.  The 
raindrops  pelted  the  foliage  like  shot.  Had 
not  the  fire  been  protected  by  the  branches  it 
would  have  gone  out  at  once,  but  soon  there 
arose  only  heavy  smoke,  through  which  narrow 
blue  flames  shot  up  here  and  there.  Kali 
thought  that  the  fire  was  about  out,  and  so 
did  not  throw  any  more  fagots  on  it.  In- 
stead, he  quickly  swung  a  rope  round  the  tree, 
and  with  its  aid  soon  climbed  higher  and  higher. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  asked  Stasch. 

"Kali  climbs  up  the  tree." 

"Why?"  he  screamed,  angry  at  the  boy's 
selfishness. 

A  vivid  flash  of  lightning  shot  through  the 
darkness,  and  Kah's  answer  was  drowned  by 


266     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

a  clap  of  thunder  which  shook  the  heavens  and 
the  wilderness.  At  the  same  time  a  hurricane 
broke  forth  that  tore  the  branches  off  the  trees 
and  in  a  second  swept  over  the  place  where  the 
fire  had  been  and  carried  away  the  glowing 
pieces  of  wood  which  remained  under  the  ashes, 
and  flung  them,  like  fiery,  sparkling  sheafs, 
into  the  jungle. 

The  next  moment  an  impenetrable  darkness 
enveloped  the  camp.  The  terrible  equatorial 
storm  raged  in  the  heavens  and  on  the  earth. 
Claps  of  thunder  and  flashes  of  lightning  fol- 
lowed one  another  in  rapid  succession.  The 
vivid  forks  of  lightning  tore  wildly  through  the 
somberness  of  the  black  sky.  On  the  nearby 
cliff  a  strange-looking  blue  ball  was  seen;  for 
a  time  it  rolled  along  the  gorge,  then  flamed 
up  into  dazzling  brilliancy,  exploding  with  such 
a  terrible  report  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  very 
rocks  must  be  crushed  to  powder  by  the  shock. 
Then,  as  before,  perfect  silence  reigned. 

Stasch  was  worried  on  Nell's  account,  and 
he  groped  his  way  toward  the  tent,  which  was 
still  standing,  being  protected  by  the  ant-hill 
and  the  immense  tree  trunk;  nevertheless  the 
next  gust  of  wind  might  be  heavier  and 
break  the  ropes  and  carry  it  away,  heaven 
knows  where.  The  storm  abated  at  times, 
then  increased,  and  rivers  of  rain  and 
masses  of  broken  twigs,  branches,  and  foliage 
from  the  neighboring  woods  came  thundering 
down. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     267 

Stasch  was  nearly  at  his  wits'  end.  He  did 
not  know  whether  he  ought  to  leave  Nell  in  the 
tent  or  take  her  out.  In  the  first  case  she  might 
become  entangled  in  the  ropes  and  be  carried 
off  with  the  tent-canvas ;  on  the  other  hand,  she 
stood  a  chance  of  getting  thoroughly  drenched 
and  being  carried  away  in  addition,  for  even 
Stasch,  though  much  stronger  than  she,  was 
scarcely  able  to  keep  his  own  footing. 

This  desperate  situation  was  at  last  solved 
by  the  whirlwind,  which  soon  carried  off  the 
top  of  the  tent,  and  now  the  canvas  walls 
offered  no  further  protection.  There  was  noth- 
ing to  do  but  to  wait  in  the  impenetrable  dark- 
ness, surrounded  by  two  lions,  for  the  storm 
to  abate. 

Stasch  thought  that  perhaps  these  animals 
had  also  sought  shelter  from  the  storm  in  the 
nearby  forest,  but  he  was  quite  sure  that  they 
would  return  after  the  rain  had  ceased,  and  the 
awful  predicament  was  made  worse  by  the  fact 
that  the  hurricane  had  also  demolished  the 
hedge. 

Everything  threatened  destruction.  Stasch's 
rifle  was  useless,  and  he  had  no  scope  for  his 
energy.  Face  to  face  with  the  storm,  the  light- 
ning, the  tempest,  the  rain,  the  darkness,  and 
the  lions,  he  felt  himself  defenseless,  helpless. 
The  canvas  walls,  beaten  by  the  hurricane, 
drenched  them  on  all  sides,  so  Stasch  threw  his 
arm  around  Nell  and  guided  her  outside  the 
tent;  then  they  both  clung  to  the  tree  trunk 


268     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  there  waited  either  death  or  the  merciful 
help  of  heaven. 

But  now  suddenly  between  the  blasts  of  wind 
came  the  voice  of  Kali,  which  could  scarcely  be 
heard  above  the  pattering  of  the  rain. 

"Ahl  ah!    Up  the  tree!    Up  the  tree!" 

And  immediately  a  wet  rope  let  down  from 
above  touched  the  boy's  shoulder. 

"Fasten  Bibi  to  it.  Kali  will  draw  her  up!" 
cried  the  negro  again. 

Stasch  did  not  hesitate  a  minute.  He  rolled 
Nell  up  in  the  canvas,  so  that  the  rope  could 
not  cut  her,  bound  it  tightly  round  her  body, 
lifted  her  up  with  outstretched  arms,  and  cried, 
"Pull!" 

There  happened  to  be  some  low  branches  on 
the  tree,  so  Nell's  journey  through  the  air  was 
not  long.  Kali  soon  caught  her  in  his  strong 
arms  and  deposited  her  between  the  tree  trunk 
and  an  enormous  branch,  which  was  roomy 
enough  for  half  a  dozen  more  such  tiny  beings 
as  she.  No  blast  of  wind  could  blow  her  down 
from  the  tree,  and  although  the  water  ran  down 
the  tree  in  a  stream,  the  trunk,  which  was  more 
than  ten  feet  thick,  protected  her  at  least  from 
those  sheets  of  water  which  the  tempest  drove 
obliquely  toward  them. 

After  the  negro  had  brought  the  little 
"Bibi"  to  this  place  of  safety,  he  let  the  rope 
down  for  Stasch,  but  he,  like  a  captain  who 
is  the  last  to  leave  his  sinking  ship,  ordered  Mea 
to  climb  up  before  him. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      269 

Kali's  help  was  unnecessary,  for  she  swung 
herself  up  in  a  minute  with  skill  and  agility, 
as  though  she  were  the  sister  of  a  chimpanzee. 
It  was  a  more  difficult  feat  for  Stasch,  but  still 
he  was  sufficiently  trained  in  gymnastics  to 
overcome  the  weight  of  his  own  body,  which 
was  increased  by  the  rifle  and  the  cartridges, 
with  which  he  had  hastily  filled  his  pockets. 

In  a  short  time  they  were  all  in  the  tree. 
Stasch  had  become  so  accustomed  to  think 
always  of  Nell  first,  that  he  now  set  about  at 
once  to  see  that  she  stood  in  no  danger  of  fall- 
ing off,  ascertaining  if  she  had  room  enough, 
and  whether  she  could  lie  down  comfortably. 
Satisfied  in  these  respects,  he  began  racking  his 
brains  as  to  how  he  could  shelter  her  from 
the  storm.  But  there  was  not  much  hope  that 
he  would  be  successful  in  this.  To  erect  a 
small  roof  over  their  heads  would  have  been 
easy  work  during  the  day,  but  now  the  dark- 
ness surrounding  them  was  so  intense  that  they 
could  not  even  see  each  other.  If  the  storm 
would  only  abate  they  could  light  a  fire  to  dry 
Nell's  clothes. 

Stasch  was  in  despair,  thinking  that  the 
child,  who  was  drenched  to  the  skin,  would 
surely  have  her  first  attack  of  fever  the  fol- 
lowing day.  He  was  afraid  that  it  might  be 
cold  in  the  early  morning  after  the  storm,  as 
had  been  the  case  after  the  previous  nights, 
though  the  blasts  of  wind  and  the  rain  during 
the  other  storms  had  been  warm.    Stasch  was 


270     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

only  surprised  at  its  duration,  for  he  knew  that 
equatorial  storms  are  the  fiercer  in  proportion 
to  their  speed  in  passing.  It  was  a  long  time 
before  the  thunder  ceased  and  the  wind  calmed 
down  a  little,  but  even  then  it  continued  to 
rain,  not  so  heavily  as  before,  but  still  the  rain- 
drops were  so  heavy  and  dense  that  the  foliage 
offered  absolutely  no  shelter.  From  beneath 
them  could  be  heard  the  roaring  of  waters,  as 
if  the  whole  jungle  were  converted  into  a  sea. 
Stasch  shuddered,  thinking  that  they  would 
surely  be  destroyed  in  the  gorge.  He  also 
thought  of  what  might  have  happened  to  Saba, 
and  this  made  him  very  sad,  but  he  did  not 
dare  to  talk  about  the  dog  to  Nell.  He  cher- 
ished a  fond  hope  that  the  clever  animal  had 
found  a  safe  refuge  between  the  rocks  that 
overhung  the  gorge.  At  any  rate,  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  help  the  dog. 

And  so  they  sat  there  close  to  one  another, 
becoming  wetter  and  wetter  under  the  out- 
spread branches,  and  waiting  for  dawn.  After 
a  few  hours  the  air  began  to  cool  off  and  at 
last  the  rain  stopped  entirely.  To  all  appear- 
ances the  water  now  only  flowed  over  the  edge 
of  the  promontories  down  into  the  lower 
regions,  for  no  splashing  or  hollow  roaring 
could  be  heard. 

On  the  previous  day  Stasch  noticed  that  Kali 
had  attempted  to  make  a  fire  with  wet  branches 
and  the  idea  suddenly  struck  him  of  ordering 
the  negro  to  descend  and  try  if  he  could  do  it 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     271 

again.  But  just  as  he  turned  toward  him 
something  happened  which  nearly  froze  the 
blood  in  the  veins  of  all  four. 

A  terrible,  heartrending  cry  from  the  horses 
— a  cry  full  of  pain,  surprise,  and  deadly  fear — 
broke  the  silence  of  the  night.  Through  the 
darkness  were  heard  frightful  sounds,  then  a 
short  gurgling,  followed  by  hollow  sighs  and 
groans,  and  at  the  very  end  a  piercing,  inex- 
pressible sound,  and  then  silence  reigned. 

"The  lions!  Lions  kill  horses!"  whispered 
Kali. 

There  was  something  so  terrible  in  this  at- 
tack by  night,  in  the  violence  of  the  elements, 
and  in  the  sudden  killing  of  the  animals,  that 
for  a  minute  Stasch's  blood  nearly  froze  in  his 
veins  and  he  never  once  thought  of  the  rifle. 
But  what  good  would  it  do  to  shoot  in  such 
darkness?  At  best  the  nocturnal  marauders, 
frightened  by  the  light  and  the  report  of  the 
shots,  would  leave  the  dead  horses,  follow  those 
who  had  wandered  away  from  the  camping 
place  as  far  as  their  bound  feet  would  permit, 
and  would  then  run  away. 

At  the  thought  of  what  really  might  have 
happened  had  they  stayed  below,  Stasch  be- 
gan to  shudder.  Nell,  clinging  to  him,  trembled 
as  if  seized  by  her  first  attack  of  fever.  How- 
ever, the  tree  protected  them  from  being  at- 
tacked. Doubtless  it  was  Kali  who  had  saved 
their  lives. 

In  spite  of  all,  however,  it  was  a  terrible 


272      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

night,  by  far  the  most  awful  of  the  entire 
journey. 

They  crouched  on  the  branches  Hke  drenched 
birds,  and  listened  to  what  was  going  on  be- 
low. For  a  while  deep  silence  reigned,  then 
again  there  were  sounds  denoting  the  tearing 
of  large  pieces  of  meat,  the  greedy  smacking  of 
lips,  the  gasping  breath  and  the  groans  of  the 
monsters. 

The  scent  of  raw  meat  and  blood  penetrated 
into  the  top  of  the  tree,  for  the  lions  held  their 
feast  not  further  than  twenty  feet  away  from 
the  hedge.  They  feasted  so  long  that  Stasch 
lost  patience  and  became  angry,  and  he  took 
up  the  rifle  and  shot  in  the  direction  from 
which  the  noises  came.  A  short,  broken-off, 
angry  roar  was  the  only  answer.  Then  once 
more  was  heard  the  cracking  of  the  bones, 
which  the  animals  of  prey  crunched  between 
their  enormous  jaws.  In  the  background  the 
blue  and  red  eyes  of  the  hyenas  and  jackals 
glistened  as  they  awaited  their  turn. 

And  so  the  endless  hours  of  the  night 
dragged  on. 

CHAPTER   IV 

AT  LAST  the  sun  rose  and  lighted  up  the 
jungle,  the  scattered  groves,  and  the  for- 
est. The  lions  disappeared  with  the  first  ray 
of  dawn.  Stasch  made  Kali  build  a  fire  and 
ordered  Mea  to  take  Nell's  things  out  of  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     273 

leather  bag,  in  which  they  were  packed,  to  dry 
them  and  change  the  girl's  clothes  as  quickly 
as  possible.  He  took  the  rifle  and  carefully 
went  over  the  camp  to  see  what  ravages  had 
been  made  by  the  storm  and  the  bloodthirsty 
beasts. 

Just  behind  the  hedge,  only  the  stakes  of 
which  remained,  lay  the  first  horse,  nearly  half 
devoured ;  some  hundred  feet  further,  a  second, 
hardly  begun ;  and  next  to  it  the  third,  with  its 
stomach  torn  open  and  its  head  smashed  in. 
They  all  presented  a  terrible  sight,  for  in  their 
open,  glassy  eyes  could  be  seen  their  terror  at 
approaching  death,  and  their  wide-open  jaws 
displayed  their  strong  teeth.  The  ground  was 
stamped  down  and  the  cavities  formed  pools  of 
blood.  Stasch  was  so  enraged  that  at  the  mo- 
ment he  almost  wished  that  the  disheveled  head 
of  one  of  the  nocturnal  robbers,  tired  out  after 
the  feast,  would  appear  behind  one  of  the 
bushes,  so  that  he  might  send  a  bullet  through 
it.  But  he  was  obliged  to  postpone  his  revenge 
at  present,  for  he  had  other  things  to  attend  to. 

The  remaining  horses  had  to  be  caught. 
The  boy  supposed  that  like  Saba,  whose  car- 
cass was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  they  might  have 
hidden  somewhere  in  the  woods.  The  hope  that 
the  faithful  fellow-sufferer  had  not  fallen  a 
prey  to  the  wild  animals  made  Stasch  feel  so 
happy  that  he  took  courage  once  more,  and 
the  finding  of  the  donkey  naturallj?^  increased 
his  joy.     It  so  happened  that  clever  long- 


274     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ears  had  not  even  taken  the  trouble  to  run  far 
away.  He  had  simply  crept  into  a  nook  made 
by  the  ant-hill  and  the  large  tree  outside  the 
hedge,  and  there,  with  head  and  sides  protected, 
he  had  awaited  events,  in  readiness  at  anj^  mo- 
ment to  repulse  the  attack  by  vigorously  kick- 
ing out  his  hind  legs.  But  the  lions  had  ap- 
parently not  noticed  him,  so  when  the  sun  rose 
and  the  danger  was  over  he  felt  the  necessity 
of  lying  down  and  taking  a  good  rest  after  all 
the  tragical  events  of  the  night. 

While  circling  the  camp  Stasch  at  last  found 
the  impress  of  horses'  hoofs  in  the  moistened 
earth.  The  tracks  pointed  toward  the  woods 
and  then  turned  off  toward  the  gorge.  That 
was  fortunate,  for  it  would  not  be  difficult  to 
capture  horses  in  the  narrow  pass.  A  little 
further  on  in  the  grass  was  found  a  foot-chain, 
which  one  of  the  horses  had  succeeded  in  break- 
ing off  during  its  flight.  This  horse  must  have 
run  away  so  far  that  for  the  present  he  would 
have  to  be  considered  lost.  To  offset  this, 
Stasch  discovered  the  other  two  behind  a  low 
rock,  not  in  the  ravine,  but  on  its  borders.  One 
of  them  was  rolling  on  the  ground,  the  other 
grazing  in  the  fresh  green  grass.  Both  looked 
very  tired,  as  though  they  had  run  a  long  dis- 
tance. But  daylight  had  driven  all  fear  from 
their  hearts,  and  they  greeted  Stasch  by  neigh- 
ing in  a  short,  friendly  way.  The  horse  which 
was  rolling  on  the  ground  sprang  to  his  feet, 
which  enabled  the  boy  to  see  that  he  also  had 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     275 

succeeded  in  breaking  loose  from  his  foot- 
chains,  but  fortunately  he  had  preferred  re- 
maining with  his  friend  to  running  away  aim- 
lessly. 

Stasch  left  both  of  them  under  the  cliff  and 
advanced  to  the  edge  of  the  ravine  to  make 
sure  whether  it  were  possible  to  continue  the 
journey.  He  now  saw  that  the  heavy  down- 
pour had  been  so  severe  that  the  rain  had  run 
off  and  the  ground  was  nearly  dry.  And  soon 
his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  grayish-white 
article,  which  had  been  caught  in  the  vines  over- 
hanging the  opposite  side  of  the  cliff.  This 
proved  to  be  the  roof  of  the  tent,  which  had 
been  blown  off  and  caught  on  the  bushes;  it 
had  taken  such  a  strong  hold  that  the  rain  could 
not  wash  it  away.  After  all,  the  tent  offered 
a  better  shelter  for  Nell  than  the  hut  made  of 
branches  of  trees  put  together  hastily,  and 
Stasch  was  much  pleased  at  finding  this  article, 
which  he  had  thought  was  lost. 

Now  his  joy  increased  when  out  of  a  higher 
crevice  in  the  cliff  hidden  by  lianas  Saba  came 
running  toward  him,  holding  in  his  teeth  an 
animal  whose  head  and  tail  hung  out  of  either 
side  of  his  jaws.  The  huge  dog  climbed  down 
in  a  minute  and  laid  at  Stasch's  feet  a  striped 
hyena,  with  broken  back  and  one  foot  bitten 
off;  then  he  began  to  wag  his  tail  and  to  bark 
cheerfully  as  if  to  say:  "I  must  acknowledge 
that  I  took  to  my  heels  before  the  lion,  but 
even  you  crouched  like  birds  on  the  tree.    And 


276     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

besides,  you  see,  I  have  not  passed  the  night 
without  accomplishing  something." 

And  he  was  so  proud  of  himself  that  Staseh 
scarcely  liked  to  make  him  leave  the  ill-smelling 
carcass  behind,  instead  of  bringing  it  to  Nell. 

When  they  both  returned  they  found  a  large 
fire  in  the  bivouac,  water  boiling  in  the  pots, 
and  the  meal  being  cooked.  Nell  had  put  on 
dry  clothing,  but  she  looked  so  pale  and  ill  that 
Staseh  was  startled  and  took  her  hand,  to  make 
sure  whether  or  not  she  was  feverish. 

"Nell,  what  is  the  matter?"  asked  he. 

"Nothing,  Staseh;  I  am  only  very  sleepy." 

"I  believe  it,  after  such  a  night  I  Thank 
goodness,  you  have  cold  hands.  Oh,  what  a 
night  that  was !  Of  course  you  must  be  sleepy 
— I  am  sleepy,  too.    But  don't  you  feel  well?" 

"I  have  a  slight  headache." 

Staseh  laid  his  hand  on  her  forehead.  The 
little  head  was  cold  like  the  hands,  but  that  was 
a  sign  of  unusual  exhaustion  and  weakness,  and 
so  the  boy  sighed  and  said: 

"You  must  now  have  something  hot  to  eat, 
and  then  you  must  lie  down  and  sleep  until 
evening.  At  least  the  weather  is  good  to-day, 
and  not  likely  to  be  as  it  was  yesterday." 

But  Nell  gazed  at  him  with  terror. 

"We  surely  are  not  going  to  spend  the 
night  here?" 

"Not  here,  for  the  mangled  horses  are  lying 
nearby;  we  will  look  for  some  other  tree,  or 
else  ride  down  into  the  gorge  and  build  a  better 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     277 

fence  than  any  in  the  world.  You  will  sleep  as 
quietly  as  at  Port  Said." 

But  she  folded  her  tiny  hands  and  with  tears 
in  her  eyes  besought  him  to  ride  on  at  once,  for 
she  said  that  in  this  awful  place  it  would  be 
impossible  for  her  to  close  her  eyes  and  she 
would  surely  get  sick. 

She  begged  so  earnestly,  and  as  she  looked 
into  his  eyes  repeated  over  and  over  again, 
"Stasch,  please !"  that  at  last  he  consented  to  do 
as  she  wished. 

"Then  we  will  attempt  to  continue  our  jour- 
ney through  the  gorge,"  said  he,  "for  there  it 
is  shady.  Only  promise  to  tell  me  when  your 
strength  gives  out  or  when  you  feel  weak." 

"It  will  not  come  to  that!  You  can  bind 
me  to  the  saddle  and  I  shall  have  a  good  sleep." 

"No.  I  shall  ride  on  the  same  horse  with 
j^ou.  Kali  and  Mea  will  ride  on  the  others,  and 
the  donkey  will  carry  the  tent  and  the  luggage." 

"Good!     Good!" 

"But  as  soon  as  breakfast  is  over  you  must 
take  a  little  nap.  Besides,  we  can  not  start  be- 
fore noon,  as  there  are  many  things  to  be  done. 
The  horses  must  be  caught,  the  tent  folded,  and 
the  baggage  repacked.  We  shall  have  to  leave 
some  things  behind,  for  we  have  only  two 
horses  left.  It  will  take  a  few  hours  to  do  all 
these  things,  and  in  the  meantime  you  will  have 
a  good  sleep  and  feel  stronger.  It  is  going  to 
be  a  very  warm  day,  but  under  the  tree  it  will 
be  shady." 


278     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"And  you — and  Mea  and  Kali?  I  am  so 
ashamed  to  be  the  only  one  to  sleep  while  you 
all  have  so  much  anxiety " 

"Never  mind;  after  a  while  we  can  sleep. 
Don't  be  worried  on  my  account.  When  in 
Port  Said  I  frequently,  during  my  examina- 
tions, passed  entire  nights  without  sleep,  but 
of  course  my  father  did  not  know  it.  My 
friends  took  no  rest  either.  But  what  a  man 
can  stand  is  of  course  out  of  the  question  for 
a  little  fly  like  you.  You  have  no  idea  how 
badly  you  look  to-day — as  frail  as  glass.  Your 
eyes  and  hair  are  all  that  remain,  and  there  is 
nothing  left  of  your  face." 

Although  he  said  this  jokingly,  in  his  heart 
he  was  frightened,  for  in  broad  daylight  Nell 
really  looked  ill,  and  for  the  first  time  it  oc- 
curred to  him  that  the  poor  child,  if  she  con- 
tinued to  look  like  this,  not  only  might  die,  but 
was  sure  to  die.  At  this  thought  his  knees 
trembled,  for  he  suddenly  felt  that  in  case  of 
her  death  he  would  have  no  reason  to  live  or  to 
return  to  Port  Said. 

"For  what  would  there  be  in  life  for  me?" 
he  continually  thought. 

He  turned  away  for  a  minute,  so  that  Nell 
should  not  see  the  look  of  sadness  and  fear  in 
his  eyes,  and  then  he  went  to  the  baggage, 
which  was  piled  up  under  the  tree,  took  off 
the  cloth  which  covered  the  cartridge-case, 
opened  it,  and  began  to  search  for  something. 

It  was  there,  in  a  little  glass  phial,  that  he 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     279 

kept  the  last  quinine  powder  and  guarded  it 
as  the  apple  of  his  eye  for  a  "dark  hour";  that 
is,  in  case  Nell  should  take  the  fever.  But  now 
it  was  almost  certain  that  after  such  a  night 
the  first  attack  would  come  on,  and  so  he  de- 
cided to  take  precautions  against  it.  This  he 
did  with  a  heavy  heart,  thinking  of  what  might 
follow — and  if  he  had  not  felt  the  impropriety 
of  a  man  and  leader  of  a  caravan  weeping,  he 
would  surely  have  dissolved  into  tears  on  part- 
ing with  his  last  powder. 

In  order  to  hide  his  emotion  he  assumed  a 
stern  look,  turned  to  the  girl,  and  said: 

"Nell,  I  want  you  to  take  the  rest  of  the 
quinine  before  you  eat." 

"And  if  you  get  the  fever?"  she  asked. 

"Then  I  will  shake  myself.    Take  it,  I  say." 

She  took  it  without  further  resistance;  for 
since  he  had  shot  the  Sudanese  she  was  a  little 
afraid  of  him,  notwithstanding  the  attention 
and  kindness  he  showed  her.  Then  they  all  sat 
down  to  breakfast;  and  after  the  toils  of  the 
night  thoroughly  enjoyed  a  plate  of  good  soup. 
Nell  fell  asleep  as  soon  as  the  meal  was  finished 
and  slept  some  hours.  Meanwhile  Stasch, 
Kali,  and  Mea  prepared  the  caravan  for  the 
journey,  brought  the  top  part  of  the  tent  from 
the  ravine,  saddled  the  horses,  put  the  pack  on 
the  donkey,  and  hid  under  the  roots  of  shrubs 
everything  they  were  unable  to  take  with  them. 
They  were  almost  overcome  with  sleep  while 
performing  these  duties,  so  Stasch  arranged 


280     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

that  they  should  take  turns  in  having  a  short 
nap,  fearing  that  otherwise  they  might  go  to 
sleep  during  the  journey. 

It  was  about  two  o'clock  when  they  set  out 
again.  Stasch  held  Nell  in  front  of  him  on 
the  saddle  and  Kali  rode  with  Mea  on  the  sec- 
ond horse.  They  did  not  ride  straight  into  the 
gorge,  but  kept  between  its  upper  side  and  the 
forest.  The  new  jungle  had  grown  consid- 
erably during  this  last  night  of  rain,  but  the 
ground  under  the  new  grass  was  black  and  still 
bore  traces  of  fire.  It  was  easy  to  surmise  that 
either  Smain  had  passed  that  way  with  his 
men,  or  that  a  fire,  caused  by  lightning,  had 
swept  over  the  dried  jungle,  and,  having  at  last 
struck  the  wet  forest,  had  wound  itself  through 
the  rather  narrow  course  between  it  and  the 
ravine.  Therefore  Stasch  tried  to  see  whether 
traces  of  Smain's  encampment  or  imprints  of 
his  horses'  hoofs  could  be  found  on  this  route, 
and  to  his  great  joy  he  was  convinced  that  noth- 
ing of  the  kind  was  to  be  seen.  Kali,  who  un- 
derstood such  things,  insisted  that  the  fire  must 
have  been  driven  there  by  the  wind  more  than 
ten  days  ago. 

"That  proves,"  said  Stasch,  "that  Smain  is 
already  heaven  knows  where  with  his  Mahdists 
— and  that  we  can  not  possibly  fall  into  his 
hands." 

He  and  Nell  now  began  to  look  at  the  vege- 
tation with  some  curiosity,  for  they  had  never 
been  in  a  tropical  forest  before.     They  rode 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     281 

along  close  to  the  edge,  so  as  to  be  in  the  shade. 
The  ground  was  damp  and  soft,  and  covered 
with  dark  green  grass,  moss,  and  ferns.  Here 
and  there  lay  old  rotten  tree-trunks  covered 
with  a  carpet  of  beautiful  orchids,^  with  cups 
colored  like  variegated  butterflies  in  the  center 
of  their  buds.  Wherever  the  sun  shone  the 
earth  glittered  with  other  strange  tiny  orchids,^ 
whose  two  petals,  rising  from  a  third  petal,  re- 
mind one  of  the  head  of  a  small  animal  with 
pointed  ears.  In  many  places  the  forest  con- 
sisted of  the  shrubs  of  wild  jasmine,^  forming 
garlands  of  thin,  pink-colored  tendrils.  The 
wet  paths  and  crevices  were  covered  with  ferns, 
forming  an  impenetrable  thicket.  This  under- 
brush was  low  in  some  places,  broad  in  others, 
and  sometimes  it  grew  tall  and  was  encircled 
b}^  a  kind  of  safflower,  which  in  that  case 
reached  to  the  lowest  branches  of  the  tree,  giv- 
ing an  effect  of  fine  green  lace.  In  the  interior 
of  the  woods  there  were  different  kinds  of  trees. 
Date  and  bread  trees,  fan  palms,  sycamores, 
large  varieties  of  groundsel,  acacias,  trees  with 
dark,  shining,  bright  blood-red  foliage  grew 
close  together,  stem  to  stem,  with  branches  and 
twigs  from  which  yellow  and  purple  flowers 
shot  forth  like  torches.  In  many  places  the 
tree-trunks  were  completely  hidden,  being  cov- 
ered from  head  to  foot  with  creepers,  which 
swayed  from  one  branch  to  the  other,  forming 
the  capital  letters  "W"  and  "M,"  and  resem- 

'Auselia  Africana.         '^Lissohibso.  ^Jasminum  trifoliatum. 


282     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

bling  festoons,  curtains,  or  portieres.  India- 
rubber  lianas^  nearly  smothered  the  trees  with 
their  thousands  of  tendrils,  and  turned  them 
into  pyramids  clothed  in  white  flowers.  Small 
lianas  wound  themselves  round  the  larger  ones, 
and  the  jungle  was  in  some  places  so  thickly 
matted  that  it  almost  formed  a  barrier  through 
which  neither  human  being  nor  animal  could 
penetrate.  Only  here  and  there,  in  places 
where  elephants,  whose  strength  nothing  can 
withstand,  had  forced  a  passage,  were  there 
gaps  in  the  thicket,  which  looked  like  deep, 
winding  corridors.  The  song  of  the  birds, 
which  make  the  European  forests  so  charming, 
was  absolutelj^  lacking.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  came  from  the  tops  of  the  trees  the  most 
peculiar  sounds,  resembling  at  times  the  sharp 
scraping  of  a  saw,  the  hollow  beating  of  pots 
and  pans,  the  chattering  of  storks,  the  squeak- 
ing of  an  old  rusty  door,  the  clapping  of  hands, 
the  mewing  of  cats,  and  even  the  loud  and  ani- 
mated conversation  of  human  beings.  From 
time  to  time  a  swarm  of  gray,  green,  or  white 
parrots  or  a  multitude  of  colored  pepper- 
eaters,  with  their  gliding,  wave-like  motion, 
swung  themselves  in  the  trees.  On  the  snow- 
white  background  of  the  india-rubber  vines 
there  sometimes  crept  like  forest  spirits 
little  monkeys  in  mourning,  perfectly  black, 
with  the  exception  of  their  white  tails,  white 
stripes   on   their   sides,    and   strange-looking 

'Landolphia  florida. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     283 

white  whiskers  encasing  their  coal-black 
faces- 

The  children  gazed  with  admiration  and  sur- 
prise at  the  forest,  which  the  eyes  of  a  white 
man  had  perhaps  never  seen  before.  Saba  con- 
stantly ran  under  the  bushes  and  barked  cheer- 
fully. Little  Nell  felt  strengthened  by  the 
quinine,  her  breakfast,  and  her  sleep.  Her 
little  face  was  fresh  and  somewhat  rosy,  and 
her  eyes  had  a  happier  expression.  Every  min- 
ute she  asked  Stasch  the  names  of  the  various 
trees  and  birds,  and  he  answered  her  as  best  he 
could.  At  last  she  said  that  she  would  like 
to  get  off  the  horse  and  pick  quantities  of 
flowers. 

But  the  boy  smiled  and  said: 

"The  'siafus'  would  eat  you  up  in  a  minute." 

"What's  that — 'siafus'?  Is  that  something 
worse  than  a  lion?" 

"Worse  and  still  not  worse.  They  are  ants 
that  bite  fearfully.  The  branches  are  covered 
with  them,  and  they  fall  like  a  shower  of  fire 
from  the  trees  and  alight  on  one's  back.  They 
crawl  along  the  ground,  too.  If  you  should 
try  to  get  off  your  horse  and  go  into  the  woods, 
you  would  soon  begin  to  hop  about  and  scream 
like  a  little  monkey.  One  might  more  easily 
protect  one's  self  from  a  lion.  Sometimes  they 
come  in  large  swarms,  and  then  everything 
gives  way  before  them." 

"But  you  could  surely  prevent  them  doing 
you  any  harm!" 


284     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I?    Why  certainly  I  could." 

"How?" 

"With  fire  or  boiling  water." 

"You  always  know  how  to  defend  yourself," 
she  said,  thoroughly  convinced. 

Stasch  felt  very  much  flattered  at  these 
words,  and  so  answered  in  a  cheerful  voice: 

"If  you  only  keep  well  you  can  rely  on  me 
for  the  rest." 

"I  have  not  even  a  headache  now." 

"Thank  heaven!    Thank  heaven!" 

During  this  conversation  they  were  riding 
on  the  border  of  the  forest,  which  was  only  di- 
vided from  the  narrow  pass  by  a  hedge.  The 
sun  was  still  high  in  the  heavens,  and  its  scorch- 
ing rays  beat  down  on  them,  for  the  weather 
was  fine,  and  there  was  not  a  cloud  above  the 
horizon.  The  horses  were  sweating  profusely, 
and  Nell  began  to  complain  of  the  heat.  And 
so  Stasch,  seeing  a  suitable  place,  turned  into 
the  gorge,  the  west  side  of  which  was  now  com- 
pletely shady.  The  water  still  left  in  the  hol- 
lows after  the  storm  of  the  previous  day  was 
now  fairly  cold.  Over  the  heads  of  the  little 
wanderers  there  continually  flew — from  one 
side  of  the  gorge  to  the  other — pepper-eaters 
with  purple  heads,  blue  breasts,  and  yellow 
wings,  and  the  boy  began  to  tell  Nell  what  he 
had  read  in  books  about  their  habits. 

"You  know,"  he  said,  "there  are  pepper- 
eaters  which,  in  the  brooding  season,  find  a 
cavity  in  a  tree,  and  the  female  then  carries 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     285 

the  eggs  there  and  sets  on  them,  and  the  male 
closes  the  opening  with  clay  so  that  only  the 
head  of  the  female  is  visible,  and  not  until  the 
young  ones  are  hatched  does  he  break  the  wall 
of  clay  with  his  large  beak  and  give  the  female 
her  liberty  again." 

"And  what  does  she  have  to  eat  all  this 
time?" 

"The  male  feeds  her.  He  flies  about  con- 
stantly and  brings  her  various  kinds  of  berries." 

"And  is  she  allowed  to  sleep?"  asked  Nell  in 
a  sleepy  voice. 

Stasch  smiled. 

"If  Mrs.  Pepper-eater  is  as  sleepy  as  you 
are,  then  the  male  permits  her  to  go  to  sleep." 

In  the  coolness  of  the  gorge  the  girl  was  sud- 
denly overcome  by  drowsiness,  for  her  nap  that 
morning  had  been  too  short,  and  she  needed 
more  sleep.  In  fact,  Stasch  really  had  a  great 
mind  to  follow  her  example,  but  could  not,  be- 
cause he  had  to  hold  fast  to  her  for  fear  she 
might  fall,  and  besides  he  was  very  uncomfort- 
ably seated,  riding  astride  on  the  broad,  flat 
saddle  which  Hatim  and  Seki  Tamala  had  made 
in  Fashoda  for  the  little  girl.  He  hardly  dared 
move,  and  he  guided  the  horse  as  slowly  as 
possible  so  as  not  to  wake  her  up. 

And  she  leaned  back,  laid  her  small  head 
on  his  shoulder,  and  fell  sound  asleep.  But  she 
breathed  so  quietly  and  evenly  that  Stasch  did 
not  regret  having  given  her  the  last  small 
quinine  powder.    On  hearing  her  deep  breath- 


286     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ing  he  felt  that  for  the  present  the  danger  of 
fever  was  over,  and  he  began  to  make  the  fol- 
lowing observations: 

"The  bed  of  the  gorge  leads  continually  up 
hill,  and  just  at  this  particular  spot  it  is  rather 
steep.  We  have  climbed  higher  and  higher, 
and  the  ground  is  much  drier  than  below.  We 
must  now  search  for  a  high  and  well-sheltered 
place  near  a  rapid  stream,  and  settle  down 
there,  give  the  little  one  a  few  weeks  in  which 
to  recover,  and  perhaps  we  shall  be  obliged  to 
wait  until  the  'massika'^  is  over.  Few  girls 
would  have  borne  up  under  a  tenth  part  of 
these  trials,  and  she  must  take  a  good  rest. 
After  a  night  such  as  we  have  passed  through 
any  other  girl  would  have  come  right  down  with 
the  fever,  but  she — how  soundly  she  sleeps! 
Thank  God!" 

These  thoughts  encouraged  him,  but  though 
he  spoke  cheerfully  to  himself  while  gazing  on 
Nell's  head  reposing  on  his  shoulder,  he  was 
also  surprised  at  his  emotions. 

"It  really  is  strange  how  fond  I  am  of  this 
little  one.  I  have  always  been  fond  of  her,  but 
now  I  care  more  and  more." 

And  as  he  did  not  know  how  to  account  for 
this  he  reflected  as  follows: 

"This  is  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  we 
have  undergone  so  many  dangers  together,  and 
also  because  she  happens  to  be  in  my  care." 

While  meditating  thus  he  held  the  child  very 

'The  spring  rainy  season. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     287 

carefully,  with  his  right  hand  in  her  belt,  so 
that  she  could  not  fall  out  of  the  saddle. 
They  rode  on  slowly  and  silently,  and  Kali 
whispered  in  Stasch's  ear  these  flattering 
words : 

"The  Great  Man  kills  Gebhr,  kills  lion,  and 
buffalo.  Yah!  Yah!  The  Great  Man  will  kill 
many  lions.  Plenty  of  meat !  Plenty  of  meat  I 
Yah!  Yah!" 

"Kah,"  asked  Stasch  softly,  "do  the  Wa- 
himas  hunt  lions,  too?" 

"Wa-hima  afraid  of  lions,  but  Wa-hima  dig 
deep  trenches,  and  if  a  lion  falls  into  them  dur- 
ing the  night,  why  then  Wa-hima  laughs." 

"What  would  you  do  then?" 

"Wa-hima  throw  many  spears  until  the  lion 
like  a  porcupine,  then  drag  him  out  of  the 
trench  and  eat  him.  Lion  good."  And,  as  was 
his  custom,  he  stroked  his  stomach. 

This  way  of  killing  lions  did  not  appeal 
strongly  to  Stasch,  so  he  began  to  question  Kali 
as  to  what  other  kind  of  game  was  to  be  found 
in  the  land  of  the  Wa-hima ;  and  so  they  talked 
more  about  antelopes,  ostriches,  giraffes,  and 
rhinoceroses  until  they  heard  the  splashing  of  a 
waterfall. 

"What's  that?"  cried  Stasch.  "In  front  of 
us  is  a  stream  and  a  waterfall,  too!" 

Kali  nodded  his  head  as  a  sign  that  it  was 
really  so. 

For  a  time  they  rode  on,  quickening  their 
pace  and  listening  intently  to  the  rushing  of 


288     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  water,  which  was  heard  more  distinctly 
every  minute. 

"A  waterfall!"  repeated  Stasch,  who  was 
much  interested.  But  they  had  scarcely  passed 
through  one  or  two  bends  in  the  gorge  when 
they  suddenly  perceived  an  insurmountable  ob- 
stacle lying  across  their  path. 

Nell,  who  had  been  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  reg- 
ular motion  of  the  horse,  awoke  at  once. 

"Are  we  stopping  to  put  up  here  for  the 
night?"  she  asked. 

"No;  but  look!"  answered  Stasch.  "See,  a 
rock  is  lying  across  the  gorge!" 

"What  can  we  do?" 

"It  is  impossible  to  creep  alongside  of  the 
rock,  for  it  is  very  narrow  just  here,  and  so 
we  must  turn  back  a  little  way  and  try  to  climb 
to  the  top  and  go  around  it;  but  as  there  are 
still  two  hours  before  night-fall  we  have  plenty 
of  time,  and  this  will  give  the  horses  a  chance 
to  get  their  wind.    Do  you  hear  the  waterfall?" 

"I  hear  it." 

"That's  where  we'll  halt  for  the  night." 

He  then  turned  to  Kali  and  ordered  him  to 
climb  up  the  side  of  the  narrow  pass  to  see 
whether  the  bottom  of  the  gorge  was  blocked 
with  more  obstacles.  As  for  Stasch,  he  began 
to  inspect  the  rock  very  carefully,  and  after  a 
while  he  exclaimed: 

"It  must  have  broken  off  and  fallen  down 
here  very  recently.  Do  you  see  where  it  has 
broken  off,  Nell?    See  how  fresh  the  break  is. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     289 

There  is  not  even  moss  or  in  fact  any  other  kind 
of  plant  to  be  seen  on  it.  I  understand  now — 
I  understand!" 

And  with  his  hand  he  pointed  to  a  bao- 
bab-tree growing  on  the  side  of  the  ravine, 
its  enormous  roots  hanging  down  over  the 
side  of  the  diff  where  the  rock  had  broken 
off. 

"This  root  has  forced  its  way  through  a 
crevice  between  the  wall  and  the  rock  and  has 
grown  so  long  and  so  thick  that  it  has  split  the 
rock  off.  That  seems  strange,  for  stone  is 
harder  than  wood,  but  I  do  know  that  such 
things  happen  in  the  mountains.  A  rock  like 
this,  which  has  scarcely  any  hold,  breaks  off  at 
the  least  jar." 

"But  what  could  have  jarred  it  so?" 

"That's  difficult  to  say.  Perhaps  a  previous 
storm,  perhaps  yesterday's  rain." 

Saba  had  remained  behind  the  caravan,  but 
now  he  came  running  up,  as  if  some  one  were 
pulling  him  back  by  the  tail,  sniffed,  squeezed 
himself  through  the  small  passage  between  the 
hedge  and  the  fallen  rock,  and  then  immedi- 
ately began  to  back  out,  his  hair  standing  on 
end. 

Stasch  dismounted  to  see  what  had  fright- 
ened the  dog. 

"Stasch,  don't  go,"  begged  Nell;  "perhaps 
there  is  a  lion  there." 

But  the  boy,  who  loved  to  boast  of  his  won- 
derful deeds,  and  who  since  the  events  of  the 


290     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

day  before  had  been  greatly  enraged  against 
lions,  answered: 

"That's  great!    A  lion— by  day!" 

But  before  he  had  time  to  approach  the  pas- 
sage Kali's  voice  was  heard  from  above  the 
gorge. 

"Bwana  Kubwa!    Bwana  Kubwa!" 

"What's  the  matter?"  cried  Stasch. 

In  a  moment  the  negro  slid  down  the  stalk 
of  a  creeper.  It  could  easily  be  seen  from  his 
face  that  he  was  the  bearer  of  some  great  news. 

"An  elephant!"  he  exclaimed. 

"An  elephant?" 

"Yes,"  answered  the  young  negro,  gesticu- 
lating with  his  hands;  "over  there  rushing 
water  and  here  cliffs.  Elephant  can  not  get 
out.  The  Great  Man  kill  elephant  and  Kali 
eat  him — oh,  eat!  eat!" 

This  thought  made  him  so  happy  that  he  be- 
gan to  jump  around,  to  smack  his  lips  and  slap 
his  knees  and  to  laugh  like  an  idiot,  at  the  same 
time  rolling  his  eyes  and  showing  his  white 
teeth. 

Stasch  did  not  understand  at  first  why  Kali 
said  that  the  elephant  could  not  escape  from 
the  gorge,  so  to  make  sure  of  what  had  hap- 
pened he  mounted  his  horse,  and  giving  Nell 
into  Mea's  care,  so  that  he  could  have  both 
hands  free  in  case  it  were  necessary  to  shoot,  he 
ordered  Kali  to  mount  behind  him;  then  they 
all  turned  back  and  began  to  look  for  a  place 
where  they  could  climb  up.  On  the  way,  Stasch 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     291 

asked  how  the  elephant  could  have  got  in  there, 
and  from  Kali's  answer  he  surmised  what  had 
really  happened. 

Apparently  the  elephant  had  sought  refuge 
from  the  flames  during  the  forest  fire,  and  on 
his  way  knocked  against  the  rock,  which,  being 
insecure,  had  fallen  down  and  cut  off  all  means 
of  his  return.  On  running  further  he  had  come 
to  the  end  of  the  narrow  pass  and  found  him- 
self on  the  edge  of  the  abyss,  through  which 
the  stream  flowed,  and  was  thus  hemmed  in. 

After  a  short  time  they  discovered  a  way  out 
of  the  gorge,  but  as  it  was  rather  steep,  it  was 
necessary  to  dismount  and  lead  the  horses.  As 
the  negro  assured  them  that  the  stream  was  not 
far  off,  they  continued  to  walk  on  until  they 
reached  the  top.  At  last  they  came  to  a  high 
strip  of  land,  which  was  bordered  on  the  one 
side  by  the  stream  and  on  the  other  by  the  ra- 
vine, and  then  looking  down  into  the  depth, 
they  saw  the  elephant  on  the  flat  ground. 

The  huge  animal  lay  on  its  stomach,  and 
Stasch  was  very  much  astonished  that  he  did 
not  jump  up  when  he  caught  sight  of  them, 
for,  as  Saba  made  a  dash  for  the  edge  of  the 
narrow  pass  and  began  to  bark,  the  beast  only 
moved  his  enormous  ears  once,  and  raising  his 
trunk,  immediately  let  it  fall  again. 

The  children  held  each  other's  hands  tight, 
and  looked  at  him  a  long  while  in  silence,  until 
Kali  said: 

"He  hunger,  die." 


292     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

In  fact,  the  elephant  had  become  so  thin  that 
the  whole  length  of  his  backbone  stood  out  like 
a  comb ;  his  sides  were  hollow,  and  beneath  his 
hide,  notwithstanding  its  thickness,  his  ribs 
could  be  plainly  seen,  and  it  was  easy  to  con- 
jecture that  the  reason  he  did  not  get  up  was 
because  his  strength  was  exhausted. 

The  gorge,  fairly  broad  at  the  entrance, 
changed  into  a  small  pocket,  closed  in  on  both 
sides  by  perpendicular  cliffs,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  grew  a  few  trees.  These  trees  had  been 
broken  off,  their  bark  was  torn  off  and  not  a 
leaf  remained.  Nearly  all  the  vines  that  had 
overhung  the  cliffs  had  been  eaten  and  the  grass 
throughout  the  entire  pocket  had  been  uprooted 
and  eaten,  even  to  the  very  last  blade. 

After  Stasch  had  taken  in  the  whole  situa- 
tion he  began  to  narrate  to  Nell  what  he  had 
seen,  but  as  he  thought  that  the  huge  animal 
was  doomed  to  die,  he  spoke  very  softly,  as  if 
afraid  of  darkening  the  last  hours  of  his  life. 

"Yes,  he  is  really  dying  of  hunger.  Prob- 
ably he  has  been  a  prisoner  here  for  the  last 
two  weeks,  since  the  time  when  the  forest  fire 
burned  up  the  old  jungle.  He  has  eaten  up 
everything  that  was  eatable,  and  now  he  is 
being  slowly  tormented  to  death,  for  he  can 
see  bread-fruit  trees  and  acacias  growing  above 
him,  but  is  unable  to  reach  them." 

And  once  more  they  looked  down  in  silence 
for  a  while  at  the  elephant,  who  every  now 
and  then  turned  his  small,  dying  eyes  toward 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     293 

them,  and  each  time  a  sound  like  a  sob  escaped 
from  his  throat. 

"Really,"  the  boy  said,  "it  would  be  a  mercy 
to  put  an  end  to  his  suffering." 

At  these  words  he  raised  the  rifle  to  his  shoul- 
der, but  Nell  caught  him  by  the  coat,  and  stand- 
ing right  in  front  of  him,  used  all  her  force  to 
drag  him  away  from  the  edge  of  the  ravine. 

"Stasch,  don't  do  it!  Give  him  something  to 
eat!  He  is  so  thin!  I  will  not  let  you  shoot 
him  I    I  will  not,  I  will  not!" 

And  stamping  still  more  emphatically  with 
her  foot,  she  continued  to  pull  him  away.  He 
looked  at  her  in  surprise,  but  on  seeing  tears  in 
her  eyes,  said: 

"But,  Nell " 

"I  will  not  allow  it.  I  will  not  let  him  be 
killed!    If  you  kill  him,  I  shall  get  the  fever!" 

This  threat  sufficed  to  make  Stasch  abandon 
his  murderous  intentions  in  regard  to  this  ele- 
phant and  others  as  well.  In  fact,  he  remained 
silent  for  a  while,  as  he  did  not  know  what  to 
answer  the  child ;  then  he  said : 

"Well,  all  right!  All  right!  I  tell  you,  it  is 
all  right!    Nell!  let  me  go!" 

And  Nell  at  once  embraced  him  and  a  smile 
shone  out  of  her  tear-stained  little  eyes.  Her 
only  care  now^  was  to  give  the  elephant  some 
food  as  soon  as  possible.  Kali  and  Mea  were 
very  much  surprised  on  hearing  that  "Bwana 
Kubwa"  was  not  only  not  going  to  shoot  the 
elephant,  but  that  they  must  straightway  pick 


294     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  fruit  of  the  bread-tree,  the  pods  of  the 
acacia,  and  various  herbs,  leaves  and  grass,  as 
much  as  they  could  collect.  Gebhr's  double- 
bladed  Sudanese  sword  greatly  aided  Kali  in 
accomplishing  this  task,  for  without  it  the  work 
would  have  been  by  no  means  easy.  But  Nell 
did  not  want  to  wait  until  they  had  finished, 
and  as  soon  as  the  first  fruit  fell  from  the 
breadfruit  tree  she  grasped  it  with  both  hands, 
carried  it  to  the  gorge,  and  repeated  quickly  to 
herself,  as  if  afraid  that  any  one  else  should  get 
there  first: 

"I!  I!  I!" 

But  Stasch  had  no  thought  of  depriving  her 
of  this  pleasure ;  on  the  contrary,  he  took  hold 
of  her  belt,  for  fear  that  in  her  great  excite- 
ment she  might  fall  over  the  edge  of  the  cliff 
together  with  her  bread-fruit,  and  cried: 

"Throw  it  down!" 

The  enormous  fruit  rolled  over  the  steep 
precipice  and  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  elephant, 
who  immediately  put  out  his  trunk,  picked  it 
up  and  crunched  it  as  if  eager  to  swallow  it  at 
once,  and  it  disappeared  instantly. 

"He  has  eaten  it  up!"  cried  Nell,  overjoyed. 

"I  should  say  so!"  answered  Stasch,  laugh- 
ingly. 

The  elephant  now  put  out  his  trunk  toward 
them,  as  if  asking  for  more,  and  then  could 
be  heard  his  "Hrrumff !" 

"He  wants  more  yet!" 

"I  should  think  he  did!"  replied  Stasch. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     295 

A  second  fruit  now  disappeared  like  the  first, 
followed  by  a  third,  fourth — tenth;  then  in 
rapid  succession  he  ate  acacia-pods,  big  bundles 
of  grass,  and  various  kinds  of  leaves.  Nell, 
would  not  permit  any  one  to  replace  her,  and 
when  at  last  her  little  hands  became  tired,  she 
still  pushed  more  food  down  to  him  with  her 
feet.  The  elephant  continued  eating,  and  it 
was  only  now  and  then,  between  mouthfuls, 
that  he  raised  his  trunk  and  gave  forth  a  thun- 
dering "Hrrumff,"  to  denote  that  he  wanted 
more,  and,  as  Nell  felt  certain,  to  show  his 
gratitude. 

At  last  Kali  and  Mea  got  tired  of  this  work, 
which  they  had  performed  very  f aithfulty,  and 
they  silently  hoped  that  "Bwana  Kubwa" 
would  fatten  the  elephant  and  kill  him  later. 
At  last  "Bwana  Kubwa"  told  them  to  stop,  for 
the  sun  had  now  sunk  quite  low  and  it  was  time 
to  begin  the  construction  of  the  hedge.  Luck- 
ily it  was  not  very  difficult,  for  two  sides  of 
the  three-cornered  strips  of  land  were  inacces- 
sible, so  that  only  the  third  one  needed  to  be 
fenced  in,  and  plenty  of  acacias  with  their 
terrible  thorns  grew  nearby. 

Nell  did  not  move  an  inch  from  the  gorge, 
and  crouching  on  its  edge,  with  her  legs  tightly 
crossed,  she  informed  Stasch,  who  was  some 
distance  away,  what  the  elephant  was  doing — 
and  her  thin  little  voice  continually  rang 
out: 

"He  is  feeling  around  with  his  trunk!"  or 


296     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"He  is  moving  his  ears.  He  has  enormous 
ears!" 

Then  at  last:  "Stasch!  Stasch!  He  is  get- 
ting up!    Oh!" 

Stasch  approached  quickly  and  took  Nell  by 
the  hand.  In  truth,  the  elephant  had  really 
gotten  up,  and  only  now  could  the  children  see 
his  enormous  size.  They  had  occasionally  seen 
large  elephants  being  taken  in  ships  through 
the  Suez  Canal  on  their  way  from  India  to 
Europe,  but  not  one  of  them  could  compare 
with  this  colossus  in  size,  for  he  really  looked 
like  a  large  slate-colored,  four-footed  rock. 
He  differed  from  those  they  had  seen  in  having 
enormous  tusks  five  feet  or  more  long,  and,  as 
Nell  had  already  said,  fabulously  large  ears. 
His  front  legs  were  very  long,  but  compara- 
tively thin,  which  was  probably  due  to  his  hav- 
ing fasted  so  many  days. 

"Oh,  what  a  Liliputian!"  cried  Stasch;  "if 
he  were  to  take  a  good  stretch  and  throw  out 
his  trunk  to  its  full  length  he  could  catch  hold 
of  your  little  foot." 

But  the  giant  neither  thought  of  stretching 
himself  nor  of  catching  any  one  by  the  foot. 
With  uncertain  steps  he  advanced  toward  the 
entrance  to  the  gorge  and  looked  for  a  while 
down  into  the  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
the  waters  whirled ;  then  he  turned  toward  the 
side  nearest  the  waterfall,  sat  down  on  his 
stomach,  put  out  his  trunk  into  the  water, 
dipped  it  down  deep,  and  began  to  drink. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     297 

"It  was  lucky  for  him,"  said  Stasch,  "that  he 
could  reach  down  into  the  water  with  his  trunk. 
Otherwise  he  would  have  died." 

The  elephant  drank  so  long  that  the  girl  be- 
came alarmed. 

"Stasch,  will  he  not  harm  himself?"  said  she. 

"I  don't  know,"  he  answered  smilingly;  "but 
as  you  have  taken  him  under  your  special  care 
you  should  warn  him  now." 

And  so  Nell  bent  over  the  side  and  called : 

"Enough,  dear  elephant,  enough!" 

And  the  "dear  elephant,"  as  if  he  understood 
what  was  meant,  immediately  stopped  drink- 
ing, and  at  once  began  to  spray  himself  with 
the  water,  first  his  legs,  then  his  back,  and  lastly 
his  two  sides. 

In  the  meanwhile  it  began  to  get  dark,  and 
so  Stasch  guided  the  little  girl  back  to  the 
hedge,  where  supper  was  already  awaiting 
them. 

Both  children  were  in  the  best  of  humor — 
Nell,  because  she  had  saved  the  elephant's  life, 
and  Stasch,  because  he  saw  her  small  eyes 
gleaming  like  stars  and  her  happy  little  face 
looking  fresher  and  healthier  than  it  had 
since  their  departure  from  Khartum.  What 
also  added  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  boy  was 
that  he  had  promised  himself  a  quiet  and  good 
night's  rest.  The  strip  of  land,  inaccessible  on 
two  sides,  ensured  them  from  attack  from 
those  directions,  and  on  the  third  side  Kah  and 
Mea  had  erected  such  a  high  hedge  out  of 


298     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

prickly  acacias  and  branches  of  passiflora^  that 
there  was  no  possibihty  of  any  beast  of  prey 
being  able  to  break  through  the  barrier.  Be- 
sides the  weather  was  fine,  and  soon  after  sun- 
set the  sky  was  studded  with  stars.  It  was 
very  pleasant  to  be  cooled  off  by  being  in  the 
proximity  of  the  waterfall,  and  to  breathe  the 
heavy  fragrance  of  the  jungle  and  the  freshly 
broken  off  branches. 

"The  'fly'  will  not  get  the  fever  here!" 
thought  Stasch  joyfully. 

They  began  to  talk  about  the  elephant,  for 
Nell  could  speak  of  nothing  else,  and  she  con- 
tinually expressed  her  admiration  for  his  huge 
size,  his  trunk,  and  his  tusks,  which  really  were 
enormous.    At  last  she  said: 

"How  wise  he  is,  Stasch,  isn't  he?" 

"As  wise  as  Solomon,"  replied  Stasch.  "But 
how  did  you  find  that  out?" 

"Because,  when  I  asked  him  to  stop  drink- 
ing, he  immediately  complied  with  my  re- 
quest." 

"If  he  had  never  taken  lessons  in  the  English 
language  before,  and  understands  what  you 
said  to  him,  then  indeed  it  is  quite  remarkable." 

Nell  perceived  that  Stasch  was  making  fun 
of  her,  so  she  fondled  him  like  a  little  kitten, 
and  said: 

"Say  what  you  like,  but  I'm  certain  that  he 
is  very  wise,  and  that  he  can  be  readily  tamed 
at  once." 

'Odenia  globosa. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     299 

"Whether  readily  and  at  once  I'm  not  sure, 
but  he  can  be  tamed.  The  African  elephant 
is  wilder  than  the  Asiatic,  but  I  believe 
that  Hannibal,  for  instance,  used  African 
beasts." 

"Who  was  Hannibal?" 

Stasch  looked  indulgently  and  pityingly  at 
her. 

"Of  course,"  he  said,  "at  your  age  you  are 
not  expected  to  know — Hannibal  was  a  great 
leader  of  the  Carthaginian  army,  which  used 
elephants  in  the  war  with  the  Romans,  and  as 
Carthage  was  in  Africa,  he  was  obliged  to  use 
African  elephants." 

The  conversation  was  interrupted  by  a  tre- 
mendous trumpeting  of  the  elephant,  which, 
after  having  satisfied  his  hunger  and  thirst,  be- 
gan— either  from  joy  or  longing  to  be  free — 
to  signal  with  his  trunk.  Saba  sat  up  and  be- 
gan to  bark,  and  Stasch  said: 

"See  what  you  have  done?  Now  he  is  call- 
ing his  friends.  A  nice  story  if  a  whole  herd 
were  to  approach." 

"He  will  tell  the  others  that  we  were  good 
to  him,"  answered  Nell  hastily. 

But  Stasch,  who  really  was  not  at  all  worried 
(because  he  reckoned  that,  even  if  several  were 
to  come  along,  the  light  of  the  fire  would 
frighten  them  away),  laughed  defiantly  and 
said: 

"Well,  well!  But  if  elephants  should  appear, 
you  will  not  cry  for  fear;  oh,  no! — your  eyes 


300     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

would  only  perspire  as  they  have  done  twice 
before!" 

And  he  began  to  imitate  her: 

"I'm  not  crying,  only  my  eyes  perspire  so!" 

When  Nell  saw  that  he  was  joking  she  con- 
cluded that  they  were  in  no  danger. 

"If  we  tame  him,"  she  said,  "then  my  eyes 
will  not  perspire  any  more,  even  if  ten  lions 
should  roar." 

"Why?" 

"Because  he  will  protect  us." 

Stasch  quieted  Saba,  who  had  continued  to 
bark  in  answer  to  the  elephant's  trumpeting, 
then  thought  a  while  and  continued ; 

"But,  Nell,  there  is  one  thing  that  you  did 
not  think  of.  We  shall  not  stay  here  forever; 
we  must  ride  on  further.  I  do  not  say  imme- 
diately— on  the  contrary.  This  place  is  very 
convenient  and  healthy,  so  I  have  decided  to 
remain  here  one  week — perhaps  two — for  you 
and  I  and  in  fact  all  of  us  need  a  good  rest. 
Well,  all  right!  As  long  as  we  stay  here  we 
will  feed  the  elephant,  although  this  is  an  enor- 
mous task  for  us  all.  He  is  imprisoned,  and 
we  can  not  take  him  with  us.  But  how  will  this 
end?  We  shall  go  away  and  he  will  stay  here 
and  starve  once  more,  until  he  succumbs.  And 
of  course  we  will  grieve  even  more  than  we 
would  now." 

Nell  felt  very  sad,  and  for  a  time  sat  there 
silently,  apparently  not  knowing  what  answer 
to  make  to  these  very  sensible  remarks,  but 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     301 

soon  she  raised  her  head,  and  pushing  aside 
the  lock  of  hair  which  always  fell  over  her 
forehead  into  her  eyes,  she  turned  her  eyes 
confidently  toward  the  boy. 

"I  know,"  she  said,  "that  you  could  get  him 
out  of  the  gorge  if  you  only  wanted  to." 

"Yes?" 

But  she  put  out  a  finger,  touched  Stasch's 
hand,  and  repeated: 

"Yes!  Yes!  Yes!" 

The  small  and  clever  little  lady  knew  quite 
well  that  the  boy  would  be  flattered  by  her 
confidence  in  him  and  that  from  now  on  he 
would  earnestly  consider  how  to  release  the 
elephant. 

CHAPTER   V 

THE  night  passed  quietly,  for  although  there 
was  a  bank  of  clouds  toward  the  south,  the 
morning  was  clear. 

Following  Stasch's  orders.  Kali  and  Mea 
busied  themselves  after  breakfast  gathering  the 
fruit  of  the  breadfruit  tree,  acacia  pods,  fresh 
leaves,  grass  and  roots  of  all  kinds  of  eatables 
for  the  elephant,  and  laid  them  down  on  the 
edge  of  the  gorge.  As  Nell  wanted  very  much 
to  feed  her  new  friend  herself,  Stasch  cut  from 
a  young,  wide-branched  melon-tree  a  kind  of 
pitchfork,  so  that  she  could  more  easily  throw 
the  provisions  into  the  bottom  of  the  ravine. 
The  elephant  had  been  trumpeting  since  early 


302      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

morning,  for  he  was  evidently  hungry,  and 
when  he  saw  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  the  same 
little  white  creature  who  fed  him  the  day  be- 
fore, he  greeted  her  by  making  a  joyful  sound 
and  immediately  stretched  out  his  trunk  toward 
her.  In  the  morning  sunshine  the  children 
thought  he  looked  even  taller  than  the  day  be- 
fore. Although  he  was  very  thin,  he  seemed 
somewhat  stronger  now,  and  his  tiny  eyes 
looked  almost  merrily  at  Nell.  She  even  in- 
sisted that  his  forelegs  had  grown  stouter  over 
night,  and  she  made  such  haste  to  throw  the 
food  down  to  him  that  Stasch  was  obliged  to 
restrain  her,  for  she  finally  became  greatly  over- 
heated and  he  had  to  take  her  place.  Both  chil- 
dren were  having  a  very  good  time,  and  they 
were  especially  amused  at  the  queer  faces  the 
elephant  made.  At  first  the  animal  ate  every- 
thing indiscriminately  that  fell  at  his  feet,  but 
when  his  hunger  was  somewhat  appeased  he 
was  more  discriminating.  When  plants  were 
given  to  him  that  he  did  not  like,  he  pushed 
them  away  with  his  forefeet  and  tossed  them  in 
the  air  with  his  trunk,  as  though  trying  to  say : 
"These  delicacies  I  reserve  for  you  up  there  to 
eat."  Finally,  after  the  beast  had  satisfied  his 
hunger  and  quenched  his  thirst,  he  began  to  slap 
his  huge  ears  with  great  satisfaction. 

"I  am  sure,"  said  Nell,  "that  he  would  not 
hurt  us  now  if  we  went  down  to  him,"  and  in 
order  to  make  sure  she  called  down  to  the  ele- 
phant : 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     303 

"Elephant,  dear  elephant,  you  would  not 
hurt  us,  would  you?" 

And  as  the  elephant  moved  his  trunk  as  if  in 
answer,  she  turned  triumphantly  to  Stasch: 
"Look!    He  says 'Yes!'" 

"Perhaps  so,"  replied  Stasch;  "elephants  are 
very  intelligent  animals,  and  this  one  has  evi- 
dently come  to  the  conclusion  that  we  are 
necessary  for  his  welfare.  Who  can  say 
whether  he  may  not  be  a  little  grateful  to  us? 
It  is  better  not  to  attempt  it  now,  and  certainly 
Saba  would  not  dare  do  it,  for  he  would  be 
killed  at  once.  Perhaps  in  time  they  may  be- 
come friends." 

All  further  conversation  about  the  beauty  of 
the  elephant  was  cut  short  by  Kali,  who,  fore- 
seeing that  he  would  have  to  work  hard  every 
day  to  obtain  food  for  the  beast,  approached 
Stasch,  smiled  cheerfully,  and  said: 

"Great  Man  kill  elephant  and  Kali  eat  him, 
instead  of  gathering  grass  and  branches  for 
him." 

But  the  "Great  Man's"  thoughts  were  miles 
away  from  killing  the  elephant,  and  as  he  had  a 
very  happy  disposition,  he  replied  while  stand- 
ing there: 

"You're  a  donkey." 

Unfortunately  he  had  forgotten  the  word 
for  "donkey"  in  the  Ki-swahili  language — so 
he  used  the  English  word  "donkey"  and  Kali, 
who  did  not  understand  any  English,  con- 
cluded that  this  name  was  applied  to  him  as  a 


304      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

compliment  or  a  reward,  for  the  children  soon 
saw  him  turn  toward  Mea  and  heard  him  brag- 
ging as  follows: 

"Mea  has  black  skin  and  black  head  and 
Kali  is  a  donkey."- 

Then  he  continued,  with  pride: 

"The  Great  Man  himself  said  that  Kali  was 
a  donkey." 

Stasch,  after  ordering  them  both  to  guard 
the  young  lady  like  the  apple  of  their  eye,  and 
to  call  him  at  once  should  anything  happen, 
grasped  his  rifle  and  started  off  toward  the 
fallen  rock  that  blocked  up  the  gorge.  When  he 
reached  the  spot  he  examined  everything  very 
carefully,  inspected  all  the  cracks,  put  a  twig 
into  a  crevice  which  he  discovered  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  rock  and  measured  its  depth  ex- 
actly, then  he  slowly  returned  to  the  camping 
place,  opened  his  cartridge-case  and  began  to 
count  the  cartridges. 

Scarcely  had  he  counted  three  hundred  when 
from  out  of  a  tall  baobab-tree  near  by,  about 
five  hundred  feet  from  the  tent,  he  heard  Mea's 
voice  crying: 

"Sir!  Sir!" 

Stasch  approached  the  big  tree,  the  hollowed- 
out  trunk  of  which  resembled  a  tomb,  and 
asked : 

"What  do  you  want?" 

"There  are  many  zebras  to  be  seen  not  far 
from  here,  and  further  off  antelopes  also." 

"Good.     I  will  take  my  gun  and  go  after 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     305 

them,  for  we  must  have  some  meat  to  smoke. 
But  why  did  you  climb  up  in  the  tree  and  what 
are  you  doing  up  there?" 

The  girl  answered  in  a  sad,  drawling  voice: 

"Mea  saw  a  nest  of  gray  parrots  and  wanted 
to  bring  the  young  ones  to  the  little  lady,  but 
the  nest  is  empty,  and  so  Mea  will  not  get  any 
glass  beads  for  her  neck." 

"You  will  get  some  because  you  love  the 
little  lady." 

The  young  negress  slid  do^vn  hastily  over 
the  rugged  tree  bark,  and  with  eyes  beaming 
with  joy  she  called  repeatedly: 

"Oh,  yes,  yes!  Mea  loves  the  little  lady 
very  much,  and  she  also  loves  glass  beads!" 

Stasch  stroked  her  head  kindly,  then  he  took 
the  rifle,  closed  the  cartridge-case,  and  went 
in  the  direction  where  the  zebras  were  grazing. 
After  half  an  hour  had  elapsed  the  crack  of 
a  shot  sounded  in  the  camping-place,  and  at 
the  end  of  an  hour  the  young  hunter  returned 
with  the  good  news  that  not  only  zebras, 
but  numerous  herds  of  antelope  and  small 
groups  of  water-bucks  were  feeding  near  the 
river. 

Then  he  ordered  Kali  to  take  a  horse  with 
him  and  get  the  animal  which  had  been  killed, 
while  he  himself  carefully  examined  the  huge 
trunk  of  the  baobab-tree  and  began  to  test  the 
rugged  bark  with  the  end  of  his  rifle. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  asked  Nell. 

He  answered: 


306      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Look,  what  a  giant!    Fifteen  people  hold- 
ing one  another's  hands  could  not  encircle  this 
tree,  which  perhaps  dates  back  to  the  time  of 
Pharao.     But  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk  is 
rotten  and  hollow.     You  see  this  opening  is 
large  enough  for  any  one  to  pass  through.  One 
could  make  a  sort  of  large  room  in  there,  where 
we  all  could  live  together.     That  occurred  to 
me  when  I  saw  Mea  up  in  the  branches,  and 
while  I  was  silently  approaching  the  zebras 
the  plan  continually  recurred  to  me." 
"But  we  must  hurry  on  to  Abyssinia." 
"Yes.    But  we  must  rest  also,  and  as  I  told 
you  yesterday,  I  have  decided  to  stay  here  a 
week  or  two.     You  would  not  want  to  leave 
your  elephant,  and  on  your  account  I  am  afraid 
of  the  rainy  season,  which  has  already  begun, 
when   you   will  surely   get   the   fever.     The 
weather  is  fine  to-day,  but  you  see  that  the 
clouds  are  gathering,  and  who  knows  if  the 
rain  will  not  come  before  evening.    The  tent 
is  not  sufficient  shelter  for  you,  and  within  this 
giant  tree,  provided  it  be  not  hollow  to  the  very 
top,  we  shall  be  able  to  laugh  at  the  worst  down- 
pour. It  would  be  much  safer  for  us  within  it 
than  in  the  tent,  for  if  we  were  to  stuff  this 
opening  and  the  windows,  which  we  would  have 
to  make  for  light,  with  thorns  every  evening, 
any  number  of  lions  could  roar  around  the  tree. 
The  rainy  season  only  lasts  a  month  during  the 
spring,  and  I  am  still  of  the  opinion  that  we 
should  wait  until  it  is  over.    If  we  have  to  wait 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     307 

we  had  better  wait  here  in  this  giant  tree  than 
under  a  tent  or  anywhere  else." 

As  Nell  always  acquiesced  in  Stasch's  plans, 
she  assented  now,  especially  as  she  was  de- 
lighted with  the  plan  of  remaining  near  the 
elephant  and  living  in  the  tree.  She  began  at 
once  to  think  how  she  could  arrange  the  rooms, 
how  furnish  them,  and  how  they  would  then 
invite  each  other  to  "five  o'clocks"  and  dinners. 
Finally  they  both  became  merry,  and  Nell  im- 
mediately wanted  to  take  a  look  at  the  new 
house,  but  Stasch,  who  had  learned  day  by  day 
from  experience  to  be  cautious,  prevented  her 
from  proceeding  in  too  great  haste. 

"Before  we  take  possession  of  the  house," 
said  he,  "we  must  beg  the  present  inhabitants, 
if  there  are  any  there,  kindly  to  depart." 

After  this  he  ordered  Mea  to  throw  several 
lighted  branches,  which  being  green  smoked 
profusely,  into  the  interior  of  the  tree.  It  was 
well  he  did  so,  for  the  giant  tree  was  indeed  in- 
habited, and  by  tenants  whose  hospitality  could 
not  be  depended  upon. 

CHAPTER   VI 

THE  tree  had  two  openings,  a  large  one  half 
a  yard  from  the  ground,  and  a  smaller  one, 
somewhere  about  the  height  of  the  first  story 
of  a  town  house.  Hardly  had  Mea  thrown  the 
burning  branches  into  the  lower  one  than  large 
bats  began  to  fly  out  of  the  top  one,  and, 


308      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

blinded  by  the  sun,  they  circled  around  the  tree, 
screaming  as  loud  as  they  could.  But  the  real 
master  of  the  house  soon  wriggled  out  of  the 
lower  opening,  and  it  proved  to  be  an  enormous 
boa-constrictor,  which,  though  apparently  still 
half  asleep,  had  devoured  the  remnants  of  its 
last  feast,  and  not  until  the  smoke  reached  its 
nostrils  had  it  awakened  and  sought  safety. 
At  the  sight  of  this  iron-colored  body  squirming 
out  of  the  smoking  tree-hollow,  uncoiling  itself 
like  an  enormous  spring,  Stasch  picked  Nell  up 
in  his  arms  and  started  to  run  away  with  her 
in  the  direction  of  the  open  wilderness.  The 
reptile,  itself  frightened  by  the  smoke  and  fire, 
did  not  follow  them,  but  wended  its  way 
through  the  grass  and  the  piles  of  baggage  and 
disappeared  very  swiftly  in  the  direction  of  the 
gorge,  to  hide  itself  in  the  crevices  of  the  rocks. 
The  children  regained  their  courage.  Stasch 
set  Nell  on  the  ground,  hurried  to  fetch 
his  rifle,  and  then  ran  in  the  direction  of  the 
gorge  after  the  snake.  Nell  followed  close  be- 
hind. After  going  a  short  distance  they  be- 
held such  an  extraordinary  sight  that  they  both 
stood  rooted  to  the  ground.  High  above  the 
gorge  the  body  of  the  snake  appeared  for  an 
instant,  wriggled  in  the  air,  then  fell  to  the 
ground.  After  a  while  it  appeared  a  second 
time,  then  fell  down  again.  When  the  chil- 
dren reached  the  edge  of  the  ravine  they  saw 
to  their  surprise  that  their  new  friend,  the  ele- 
phant, was  playing  with  the  snake,  and  after 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     309 

having  thrown  it  in  the  air  twice,  he  was  now 
stamping  on  its  head  with  his  feet,  which  re- 
sembled blocks  of  wood.  Having  finished  this 
performance,  he  lifted  the  still  squirming  body 
with  his  trunk;  this  time  he  did  not  throw  it 
into  the  air,  but  right  into  the  waterfall.  Then 
he  swayed  from  side  to  side,  fanned  himself 
with  his  ears,  and  began  to  fix  his  eyes  on  Nell, 
and  at  last  put  out  his  trunk  toward  her,  as  if 
demanding  a  reward  for  his  heroic  and  sensible 
deed. 

Nell  immediately  ran  toward  the  tent  and 
returned  with  a  quantity  of  wild  figs,  a  few 
of  which  she  threw  to  him.  He  picked  them  up 
carefully  and  swallowed  one  after  another. 
Those  that  fell  into  deep  crevices  he  picked  up 
by  blowing  into  the  cracks  with  such  force  that 
stones  the  size  of  one's  fist  flew  into  the  air 
along  with  the  figs.  The  children  showed  their 
appreciation  of  these  tricks  by  laughing  and 
clapping  their  hands.  Nell  repeatedly  brought 
more  food,  and  every  time  she  threw  a  fig 
down  she  maintained  that  he  was  quite  tame 
now,  and  that  it  would  be  safe  for  her  to  go 
down  to  him. 

"Do  you  see,  Stasch,  now  we  shall  have  a 
protector — for  he  is  afraid  of  nothing  in  the 
wilderness,  not  even  of  a  lion  or  a  snake,  or  a 
crocodile.  Besides,  he  is  very  good — and 
surely  he  ought  to  be  fond  of  us." 

"If  he  should  become  tame,"  said  Stasch, 
"so  that  I  might  leave  you  in  his  care,  I  would 


310     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

not  be  afraid  to  go  off  hunting,  for  I  could  not 
find  a  better  protector  for  you  in  the  whole  of 
Africa." 

After  a  while  he  continued: 

"It  is  a  fact  that  the  elephants  of  Africa  are 
wilder,  but  I  have  read  that  the  Asiatic  ones, 
for  instance,  have  a  peculiar  weakness  for  chil- 
dren. In  India  there  has  never  been  a  case 
of  an  elephant  hurting  a  child,  and  when  one 
of  these  animals  becomes  enraged,  as  some- 
times happens,  children  are  sent  to  ap- 
pease it." 

"So  you  see,  you  see!" 

"At  any  rate,  you  were  right  in  preventing 
me  from  killing  him." 

Thereupon  Nell's  eyes  shone  with  joy. 
Standing  on  tiptoe,  she  laid  both  hands  on 
Stasch's  shoulders,  and  leaning  her  head  back 
and  looking  into  his  eyes,  she  asked: 

"I  behaved  as  if  I  were — how  old?  Tell  me! 
As  if  I  were — how  old?" 

And  he  answered: 

"At  least  seventy." 

"You  do  nothing  but  joke." 

"Well,  be  angry!  be  angry!  But  who  will 
release  the  elephant?" 

On  hearing  this  Nell  clung  to  him  like  a 
young  kitten. 

"You! — and  I  shall  love  you  very  much  for 
it,  and  so  will  he." 

"I  have  already  thought  about  it,"  said 
Stasch;  "but  it  will  be  a  very  troublesome  thing 


I 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     311 

to  do.  I  shall  not  do  it  now,  but  only  when  we 
are  ready  to  continue  our  journey." 

"Why?" 

"For  this  reason:  because  if  I  should  release 
him  before  he  is  quite  tame  and  before  he  has 
got  used  to  us,  he  would  immediately  run 
away." 

"Oh!  he  will  not  leave  me." 

"Do  you  think  he  is  as  fond  of  you  as  I 
am?"  replied  Stasch  somewhat  impatiently. 

All  further  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
the  approach  of  Kah,  who  brought  the  slain 
zebra  with  its  young  one,  which  had  been  bitten 
to  death  by  Saba.  It  was  a  lucky  thing  for  the 
bulldog  that  he  had  followed  Kali,  and  had 
therefore  not  been  present  at  the  routing  out  of 
the  snake,  for  the  dog  would  have  followed  it, 
and  had  he  come  within  its  reach  would  have 
been  squeezed  to  death  in  its  coils  long  before 
Stasch  could  have  come  to  the  rescue.  He  re- 
ceived a  box  on  the  ears  from  Stasch  for  hav- 
ing torn  to  pieces  the  young  zebra,  but  he  did 
not  seem  to  take  this  very  much  to  heart,  for 
he  did  not  even  put  in  his  tongue,  which  had 
been  hanging  out  ever  since  he  came  from  the 
chase. 

Meanwhile  Stasch  gave  Kali  to  understand 
that  he  intended  to  arrange  a  dwelling-place  in 
the  tree,  and  told  him  what  had  happened 
when  smoking  out  the  tree-trunk,  and  what 
the  elephant  had  done  to  the  snake.  The 
thought  of  living  in  the  giant  tree,  which  not 


312      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

only  served  as  a  protection  against  the  rain, 
but  also  against  wild  animals,  pleased  the 
negro  very  much,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
elephant's  behavior  did  not  at  all  meet  with  his 
approval. 

"The  elephant  is  stupid,"  said  he,  "and 
therefore  he  threw  the  'nioka'  (snake)  into  the 
rushing  waters,  but  Kali  knows  that  'nioka'  is 
very  good  to  eat,  and  so  he  will  fish  it  out  of 
the  water  and  roast  it,  for  Kah  is  clever — and 
a  donkey." 

"Yes,  you  are  a  donkey,  all  right,"  answered 
Stasch.  "You  surely  do  not  want  to  eat  a 
snake." 

"Nioka  is  good,"  said  Kali. 

And  pointing  to  the  dead  zebra,  he  added : 

"Better  than  this  nyama." 

Then  they  both  walked  toward  the  baobab- 
tree  and  began  to  arrange  the  house.  Kali 
took  a  flat  stone,  the  shape  of  a  large  sieve, 
from  the  bank  of  the  river,  laid  it  down  inside 
the  tree-trunk,  and  put  more  and  more  burn- 
ing wood  on  it,  taking  care  that  the  rotten 
wood  in  the  inside  of  the  tree  did  not  catch  fire, 
which  would  have  set  the  entire  tree  ablaze. 
He  said  that  he  did  this  so  that  nothing  could 
bite  the  "Great  Man"  and  the  little  "Bibi." 
It  was  soon  apparent  that  this  was  no  unneces- 
sary precaution,  for  no  sooner  had  the  wreaths 
of  smoke  filled  the  interior  of  the  tree  and 
rushed  out  than  all  kinds  of  vermin  began  to 
creep    out    of   the    broken    bark — black   and 


"At  tlic  sight  of  the  boii-consti-ictor  squirming  out  of 
the  smoking  tree-hollow,  uncoiling  itself  like  an  enor- 
mous spring,  Stasch  picked  up  Nell  in  his  arms  and 
started  to  run  away." — Pagk  308. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     313 

cherry-colored  beetles,  plum-sized  hairy  spi- 
ders, caterpillars  covered  with  finger-long 
prickly  hairs,  and  all  sorts  of  horrible  poison- 
ous vermin,  whose  bite  might  even  cause  death. 
From  what  was  taking  place  on  the  exterior  of 
the  trunk,  it  could  readily  be  imagined  that 
many  similar  insects  were  meeting  their  fate 
in  the  clouds  of  smoke  within,  and  the  insects 
which  fell  to  the  grass  from  the  bark  and  the 
lower  branches  were  unmercifully  killed  with 
stones  by  Kali,  who  all  the  time  stared  fixedly 
at  the  two  openings  in  the  hollow  trunk  as  if 
afraid  that  some  strange  creature  would  ap- 
pear at  any  minute. 

"Why  do  you  look  like  that?"  asked  Stasch; 
"do  you  believe  that  there  is  another  snake 
hidden  in  the  tree?" 

"No;  KaH  is  afraid  of  'Msimu.' " 

"What's  that,  'Msimu'?" 

"Evil  spirit." 

"Have  you  ever  seen  a  Msimu?" 

"No,  but  Kali  has  heard  the  dreadful  noise 
made  by  Msimu  in  the  sorcerers'  huts." 

"So  your  sorcerers  are  not  afraid  of  him?" 

"The  sorcerers  fully  believe  in  him;  they 
enter  our  huts  and  tell  us  that  Msimu  is  angry, 
and  the  negroes  bring  them  bananas,  honey, 
pombe  (a  beer  made  from  a  certain  plant), 
eggs  and  meat,  with  which  to  propitiate 
Msimu." 

Stasch  raised  his  eyebrows. 

"I  should  think  it  would  be  delightful  to  be 


314      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

one  of  your  sorcerers.  But  could  this  snake 
have  been  Msimu?" 

Kali  shook  his  head. 

"If  this  had  been  so  the  elephant  would  not 
have  killed  Msimu,  but  Msimu  would  have 
killed  the  elephant.     Msimu  is  dead." 

A  weird  crackling  sound  suddenly  inter- 
rupted him.  From  the  lower  cavity  in  the 
tree  came  a  strange-looking  cloud  of  red 
dust;  after  which  the  crackling  became 
louder. 

Kali  at  once  prostrated  himself  on  his  face 
and  began  to  scream  in  terror: 

"Aka!   Msimu!  Aka!  Aka!  Aka!" 

At  first  Stasch  drew  back,  too,  but  he  soon 
regained  his  composure,  and  when  Nell  and 
Mea  came  running  up  he  explained  the  prob- 
able cause  to  them. 

"It  is  most  likely,"  he  said,  "that  layers  of 
mold,  loosened  by  the  heat,  have  fallen  down 
and  smothered  the  fire.  But  Kali  believes  it 
was  Msimu.  Mea  shall  pour  water  into  the 
cavity,  for  if  the  fire  is  not  smothered  and  the 
mold  should  ignite,  it  might  burst  out  and  the 
whole  tree  be  consumed." 

Stasch  saw  that  Kali  still  lay  prostrate  in 
terror,  repeating  "Aka!  Aka!"  so  he  picked  up 
his  rifle,  shot  into  the  cavity,  then  touched  the 
boy  with  the  butt  of  the  gun  and  said : 

"Your  Msimu  is  shot.  Don't  be  frightened." 

Kali  raised  himself  a  little,  but  remained  on 
his  knees. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     315 

"O  great,  great  sir!  Is  the  master  not  even 
afraid  of  Msimu?" 

Stasch's  reply  was  a  laugh. 

After  a  while  the  negro  became  calm,  and 
sat  down  to  the  meal  prepared  by  Mea.  It 
was  very  evident  that  his  momentary  fright 
had  not  affected  his  appetite,  for  in  addition 
to  a  substantial  helping  of  smoked  meat  he 
ate  the  raw  liver  of  the  young  zebra,  not  to 
mention  the  wild  figs,  quantities  of  which  grew 
on  a  neighboring  sycamore.  Then  he  and 
Stasch  returned  to  the  tree,  where  there  was 
still  plenty  of  work  to  be  done,  for  it  took  more 
than  two  hours  to  take  out  the  mold  and  ashes, 
the  burned  bats,  the  piles  of  roasted  beetles, 
and  other  large  insects. 

Stasch  wondered  how  the  bats  could  have 
lived  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  snake,  but 
he  concluded  that  the  monster  either  dis- 
dained such  small  prey  or  could  not  reach  it, 
being  unable  to  uncoil  itself  inside  the  tree. 
The  heat  had  caused  the  layers  of  mold  to  break 
off,  and  thus  cleaned  out  the  interior  very  thor- 
oughly. Stasch  was  delighted  to  see  this,  for 
the  cavity  was  as  spacious  as  a  large  room, 
and  would  be  big  enough  not  only  to  shelter 
four  persons,  but  ten.  The  lower  opening 
formed  a  door ;  the  upper,  a  window ;  and  con- 
sequently it  was  neither  dark  nor  stuffy  in  the 
giant  tree.  Stasch  decided  to  divide  the  in- 
terior into  two  rooms  by  means  of  the  tent  can- 
vas; one  of  these  he  intended  for  Nell  and 


316      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Mea  and  the  other  for  himself,  KaH,  and  Saba. 
The  tree  was  not  decayed  at  the  top,  therefore 
no  rain  could  penetrate  it,  and  in  order  to 
make  it  completely  waterproof  it  was  only 
necessary  to  raise  and  prop  the  bark  slightly 
over  both  openings,  so  as  to  form  two  gut- 
ters. They  decided  to  strew  the  floor  inside 
with  sun-dried  sand  from  the  bank  of  the 
stream,  and  to  cover  this  with  a  padding  of 
dry  moss. 

This  was  very  hard  work,  especially  for 
Kali,  for  he  had  also  to  smoke  the  meat,  water 
the  horses,  and  supply  food  for  them  all,  as 
well  as  for  the  elephant,  who  continually  re- 
minded them  of  it  by  trumpeting.  But  the 
young  negro  set  to  work  with  great  zest  and 
industry  arranging  their  new  abode.  The 
reason  for  his  industry  was  discovered  by 
Stasch  that  very  day. 

"If  the  Great  Man  and  Bibi,"  said  he,  with 
his  hands  on  his  hips,  "are  to  live  in  the  tree. 
Kali  will  not  have  to  build  a  large  hedge  for 
the  night,  and  so  he  will  have  nothing  to  do  in 
the  evening." 

"So  you  like  being  idle,  eh?"  said  Stasch. 

"Kali  is  a  man,  and  so  he  likes  to  be  idle,  for 
only  women  should  work." 

"And  yet  you  see  that  I  work  for  Bibi." 

"But,  on  the  other  hand,  Bibi  will  have  to 
work  for  the  Great  Man  when  she  grows  up — 
and  should  she  refuse,  the  Great  Man  will 
surely  beat  her." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     317 

At  the  very  thought  of  this  Stasch  sprang 
up  and  cried  angrily: 

"You  fool,  do  you  know  what  'Bibi'  is?" 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  the  frightened 
boy. 

"Bibi  is — is — a  good  Msimu." 

At  this  Kali  fairly  staggered. 

On  finishing  his  work  he  walked  shyly  up  to 
Nell,  prostrated  himself  on  his  face  before  her, 
and  began  in  a  beseeching,  if  not  a  frightened 
voice,  to  repeat: 

"Aka!   Aka!    Aka!" 

And  the  "good  Msimu"  looked  at  him  won- 
deringly  with  her  lovely  sea-green  eyes,  for  she 
could  not  understand  what  had  happened,  and 
what  was  the  matter  with  Kali. 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  new  dwelling-place,  which  Stasch  had 
named  "Cracow,"  was  all  ready  for  them 
in  three  days.  Most  of  the  baggage  had  been 
placed  in  "the  men's  room,"  and  even  before 
the  house  was  ready  the  four  youngsters  were 
well  sheltered  there  during  a  severe  storm. 
The  rainy  season  had  now  set  in  in  earnest. 
This  rain  is  not  like  our  long  autumnal  storms, 
when  the  sky  is  covered  over  with  lowering 
clouds  and  the  monotonous,  dreary  weather 
lasts  for  weeks.  Here  the  dense  clouds  which 
water  the  earth  so  plentifully  are  dissipated  by 
the  wind  several  times  a  day.    Then  the  sun 


318      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

shines  again  as  though  just  emerging  from  a 
bath  and  floods  the  diffs,  the  stream,  the  trees, 
and  the  entire  jungle  with  its  golden  light.  One 
can  almost  see  the  grass  grow.  The  f oKage  on 
the  trees  is  luxuriant,  and  before  one  fruit 
drops  off  another  is  forming.  The  excessive 
moisture  in  the  air  makes  it  so  transparent  that 
even  far-off  objects  stand  out  distinctly  and 
one  can  see  to  a  great  distance.  On  the  horizon 
there  are  beautiful  rainbows,  the  colors  of 
which  are  always  reflected  in  the  waterfall. 

During  the  short  dawn  and  the  twilight  the 
sky  shone  and  reflected  a  thousand  bright  col- 
ors more  wonderful  than  the  children  had  ever 
seen  even  in  the  Libyan  desert.  The  clouds 
hanging  down  nearest  the  water  were  cherry- 
colored,  and  the  higher  regions,  better  lighted, 
looked  like  seas  of  purple  and  gold,  and  the 
small,  puffy  clouds  shone  alternately  like  rubies, 
amethysts,  and  opals.  At  night,  in  the  inter- 
vals between  showers,  the  moon  converted  the 
dewdrops  hanging  on  the  leaves  of  the  acacias 
and  mimosas  into  diamonds,  and  the  tropical 
light  shone  much  more  brilliantly  through  the 
fresh,  transparent  air  than  at  other  seasons  of 
the  year. 

Under  the  waterfall,  in  the  swamps  formed 
by  the  stream,  the  croaking  of  frogs  and  the 
melancholy  concert  of  toads  rang  out,  and  the 
fireflies,  like  shooting  stars,  flitted  through 
the  bamboo  bushes  from  one  bank  to  the 
other. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     319 

When  the  clouds  again  hid  the  starry  sky 
and  it  began  to  rain,  the  night  became  pitch 
dark,  and  inside  the  tree  it  was  as  dark  as  a 
cellar.  To  remedy  this  Stasch  got  Mea  to  melt 
some  fat  taken  from  the  slain  animals,  and  out 
of  a  tin  can  he  made  a  lamp,  which  he  hung 
under  the  upper  opening  that  the  children 
called  a  window.  The  light  from  this  window 
could  be  seen  afar  off  through  the  darkness, 
and  while  it  frightened  away  the  wild  animals, 
it  attracted  bats  and  night  birds,  so  that  finally 
Kali  had  to  put  up  a  kind  of  a  curtain  of 
thorns,  like  the  one  with  which  he  closed  the 
lower  opening  for  the  night.  In  the  daytime, 
between  showers,  if  the  weather  were  fine,  the 
children  would  leave  "Cracow"  and  wander 
over  the  entire  strip  of  land.  Stasch  would 
hunt  gazels,  antelopes,  and  ostriches,  herds  of 
which  often  appeared  on  the  banks  of  the  lower 
stream,  and  Nell  would  visit  her  elephant,  which 
at  first  only  trumpeted  when  he  wanted  some 
food,  but  later  began  trumpeting  when  he  felt 
lonesome  for  his  little  friend.  He  always 
greeted  her  with  signs  of  joy,  and  at  once  be- 
gan to  prick  up  his  large  ears  whenever  he 
heard  her  voice  or  step  even  far  away. 

One  day  when  Stasch  was  out  hunting  and 
Kali  was  fishing  above  the  waterfall,  Nell  de- 
cided to  go  to  the  rock  which  blocked  the  gorge 
to  see  if  Stasch  had  done  anything  to  remove 
it.  Mea,  who  was  busy  preparing  the  mid-day 
meal,  did  not  notice  her  departure.     On  her 


820      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

way  Nell  picked  a  peculiar  kind  of  begonia,* 
which  grew  in  large  quantities  between  the 
crevices  of  the  rock;  she  approached  the  slope 
over  which  they  had  formerly  ridden  out  of 
the  gorge,  and  walked  till  she  came  to  the  rock. 
The  large  boulder  had  broken  off  the  side  of 
the  cHff,  and  barred  the  mouth  of  the  ravine 
as  before,  but  Nell  noticed  that  there  was  still 
enough  room  between  it  and  the  wall  of  the 
cliff  for  even  a  grown  person  to  get  through 
easily.  She  hesitated  a  while  and  then  passed 
through,  gaining  the  opposite  side.  But  there 
was  still  another  bend,  which  had  to  be  passed 
before  reaching  the  broad  mouth  of  the  gorge, 
enclosed  by  the  waterfall.  Nell  began  to  con- 
sider what  she  should  do.  "I  will  go  only  a. 
little  farther;  then  I  will  look  from  behind  a 
rock  and  take  a  peep  at  the  elephant;  he  will 
not  spy  me,  and  then  I  shall  turn  back."  So 
she  crept  forward  until  she  reached  the  place 
where  the  gorge  suddenly  widened  into  a  small, 
deep  valley,  and  then  she  saw  the  elephant.  He 
stood  with  his  back  toward  her,  his  trunk  in 
the  water,  taking  a  drink.  This  encouraged 
her,  and  keeping  close  to  the  wall  of  the  cliff, 
she  walked  a  few  steps,  bending  forward  a 
little  more;  just  then  the  giant  beast,  who  was 
going  to  take  a  bath,  turned  his  head,  saw  the 
little  girl  and  immediately  started  toward  her. 
Nell  was  thoroughly  frightened,  but  having 
no  time  to  retreat,  she  made  her  very  prettiest 

'Begonia  Johnstoni. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     321 

courtesy,  and  then  extending  her  hand  in  which 
she  held  the  begonias,  said  in  a  rather  trembhng 
voice : 

"Good  morning,  dear  elephant!  I  know 
you  will  not  hurt  me,  and  so  I  have  come  here 
to  say  good-day  to  you — I  have  only  these  little 
flowers " 

The  colossus  approached,  put  out  his  trunk 
and  took  from  Nell's  fingers  the  blossoms,  but 
no  sooner  had  he  put  them  in  his  mouth  than 
he  let  them  drop,  for  evidently  he  did  not  like 
the  taste  of  the  stringy  leaves  or  the  flowers. 
Nell  now  saw  directly  above  her  his  trunk, 
which  resembled  an  enormous  black  snake;  it 
stretched  and  contracted,  touched  her  little 
hands  one  at  a  time,  then  her  arms,  and  at  last 
it  hung  down  and  began  to  swing  from  side  to 
side. 

"I  knew  you  would  not  hurt  me,"  repeated 
the  girl,  although  still  somewhat  frightened. 

The  elephant  flapped  his  huge  ears,  alter- 
nately extended  and  contracted  his  trunk,  and 
gave  the  grunt  of  satisfaction  that  he  always 
did  when  the  girl  approached  the  edge  of  the 
ravine. 

Just  as  Stasch  had  once  faced  the  lion,  so 
now  these  two  (Nell  and  the  elephant)  stood 
face  to  face — he,  a  monster  resembling  a  house 
or  a  rock,  and  she  a  tiny  crab  that  he,  even  if 
not  angry,  but  merely  careless,  might  trample 
under  foot. 

But  the  careful  beast  did  not  move  an  inch, 


322      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  seemed  delighted  at  beholding  liis  little 
visitor. 

Nell  gradually  took  courage ;  at  last,  raising 
her  eyes  and  looking  up  as  if  to  a  high  roof, 
she  timidly  extended  her  hand  and  asked: 

"May  I  stroke  your  trunk?" 

The  elephant  did  not  understand  English, 
but  he  immediately  knew  what  she  meant  from 
the  motion  of  her  hand,  and  pushed  the  end 
of  his  two-yard-long  nose  into  the  palm  of  her 
hand.  Nell  began  to  stroke  the  trunk,  at  first 
only  with  one  hand  and  very  carefully,  then 
with  both,  and  at  last  she  threw  both  arms 
around  it  and  clung  to  it  with  childish  con- 
fidence. 

The  elephant  moved  from  one  foot  to  the 
other,  and  grunted  with  satisfaction. 

Soon  after,  winding  his  trunk  around  the 
fragile  body  of  the  girl,  he  lifted  her  high 
and  began  gently  to  swing  her  from  side  to 
side. 

"More!  More!"  cried  Nell,  delighted. 

This  game  lasted  quite  a  while ;  the  girl,  who 
now  had  entire  confidence  in  the  elephant  and 
was  no  longer  afraid,  thought  of  another  plan, 
for  on  reaching  the  ground  again  she  tried  to 
climb  up  the  foreleg  of  the  elephant,  as  though 
climbing  up  a  tree,  or  hid  behind  him,  and 
asked  him  if  he  could  find  her.  During  these 
pranks  she  noticed  that  in  the  elephant's  feet, 
especially  in  its  hind  feet,  there  were  a  great 
many  thorns,  which  the  powerful  animal  was 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     828 

not  able  to  extract,  because,  in  the  first  place, 
he  could  not  reach  his  hind  legs  readily  with 
his  trunk,  and  secondly,  because  he  evidently 
was  afraid  of  wounding  the  finger  which  forms 
the  end  of  the  trunk,  and  without  which  he 
would  lose  all  his  dexterity.  Nell  did  not  know 
that  thorns  in  the  feet  torment  Indian  ele- 
phants, and  especially  their  cousins  in  the 
African  jungles,  which  mostly  consist  of 
prickly  plants.  Her  sympathies  were  aroused 
for  the  kindly  giant,  and  squatting  down  near 
one  of  his  feet,  she  began  to  pull  out  the 
large  thorns  and  then  the  small  ones,  chat- 
tering incessantly  and  assuring  the  elephant 
that  she  would  not  let  a  single  one  remain.  He 
understood  very  well  what  was  the  matter,  and 
bending  his  knee,  he  plainly  showed  that 
there  were  thorns  in  the  soles  of  his  feet  be- 
tween the  hoofs  protecting  the  toes,  and 
these  thorns  were  even  more  painful  than  the 
others. 

Meanwhile  Stasch  had  returned  from  hunt- 
ing, and  at  once  asked  Mea  where  the  little  lady 
was. 

On  receiving  the  answer  that  she  was  prob- 
ably in  the  tree,  he  was  just  going  to  look  in- 
side when  he  thought  he  heard  her  voice  in  the 
gorge.  To  make  sure,  he  immediately  sprang 
to  the  edge  and  looked  down.  He  was  so 
frightened  at  what  he  saw  that  the  blood  nearly 
froze  in  his  veins.  The  girl  was  seated  at  the 
feet  of  the  colossus,  and  the  latter  stood  so 


324      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

quiet  that  but  for  the  movements  of  his  trunk 
and  ears  one  might  have  thought  him  hewn  out 
of  stone. 

"Nell!"  screamed  Stasch. 

Earnestly  engaged  in  what  she  was  doing, 
she  answered  him  cheerfully: 

"In  a  minute!    In  a  minute!" 

The  boy,  who  was  not  accustomed  to  post- 
pone action  when  in  danger,  picked  up  his  rifle 
with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  grasped 
a  dried  liana  stem,  twisted  both  legs  around  it, 
and  in  a  second  swung  himself  down  to  the 
level  of  the  narrow  pass. 

The  elephant  flapped  his  ears  uneasily,  but 
at  this  instant  Nell  arose,  put  her  arms  around 
his  trunk  and  cried  hastily,  "Elephant,  don't 
be  frightened;  that's  Stasch!" 

Stasch  at  once  saw  that  Nell  was  in  no  dan- 
ger, but  even  then  his  legs  shook  under  him  and 
his  heart  beat  violently.  But  before  he  recov- 
ered from  his  fright  he  mumbled  in  an  angry 
but  sad  voice: 

"Nell,  Nell,  how  could  you  do  that?" 

She  began  to  excuse  herself,  saying  she  had 
done  nothing  wrong  after  all,  for  the  elephant 
was  kind  and  quite  tame  now,  and  she  had  only 
intended  to  take  a  closer  look  at  him  and  then 
go  back,  but  he  had  detained  her  by  playing 
with  her  and  carefully  swinging  her,  and  that 
if  Stasch  liked  he  would  swing  him,  too.  As 
she  spoke  these  words  she  lifted  the  end  of  his 
trunk  with  one  hand,  and  drawing  it  toward 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     325 

Stasch,  she  waved  the  other  hand  from  side  to 
side,  saying: 

''Elephant,  rock  Stasch,  too!" 

The  inteUigent  animal  guessed  from  her 
movements  what  she  wanted,  and  in  a  second 
Stasch  was  grasped  by  the  belt  and  swung 
through  the  air.  Seeing  him  looking  so  angry 
and  at  the  same  time  swinging  through  the 
air  struck  her  as  so  comical,  that  she  laughed 
till  the  tears  ran  down  her  cheeks,  and  clapping 
her  hands,  she  repeated  as  before: 

"Elephant,  swing  Stasch,  too!" 

It  was  utterly  impossible  to  maintain  a  se- 
vere demeanor  and  preach  morality  while 
hanging  to  the  end  of  an  elephant's  trunk  and 
being  involuntarily  swung  to  and  fro  with 
clock-like  regularity,  so  the  boy  at  last  laughed 
too.  After  a  while,  noticing  that  the  trunk 
was  moving  more  slowly,  and  that  the  elephant 
intended  to  put  him  down,  a  new  idea  seized 
him,  and  when  near  one  of  the  elephant's 
large  ears  he  held  on  to  it,  and  swinging  him- 
self onto  the  beast's  head,  seated  himself  on 
his  neck. 

"Aha!"  he  cried,  as  he  glanced  down  at  Nell, 
"he  shall  know  that  he  has  to  obey  me." 

And  with  the  look  of  a  lord  and  master  he 
began  to  feel  around  the  head  of  the  beast. 

"Good!"  cried  Nell  from  below,  "but  how 
will  you  get  down?" 

"That's  very  easy,"  answered  Stasch. 

Dropping  his  legs  down  over  the  elephant's 


326     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

head,  he  fastened  them  around  the  trunk  and 
sHd  down  as  from  a  tree. 

"That's  the  way  I  shall  get  down." 

Now  they  both  began  to  pull  the  remaining 
thorns  out  of  the  elephant's  foot,  and  he  sub- 
mitted very  patiently  to  the  operation. 

Meanwhile  the  first  drops  of  rain  had  begun 
to  fall,  so  Stasch  decided  to  take  Nell  back  to 
"Cracow"  at  once.  But  an  unexpected  ob- 
stacle stood  in  their  way,  for  the  elephant 
would  on  no  account  part  with  her,  but  turned 
her  round  with  his  trunk  and  drew  her  toward 
him.  The  situation  began  to  be  serious,  and 
on  account  of  the  obstinacy  of  the  animal  their 
happy  play  was  in  danger  of  ending  badly. 
The  boy  did  not  know  what  to  do,  for  it  was 
now  raining  harder  and  a  bad  storm  threat- 
ened. Both  retreated  a  short  distance  toward 
the  opening,  but  they  had  only  taken  a  few 
steps  when  the  elephant  followed  them. 

At  last  Stasch  planted  himself  between  Nell 
and  the  animal,  looked  severely  at  him,  and 
whispered  to  Nell : 

"Don't  run  away,  but  retire  slowly  and  with 
measured  step  toward  the  narrow  passage." 

"And  you,  Stasch?"  asked  the  httle  girl. 

"Return!"  he  repeated  energetically;  "for 
otherwise  I  shall  have  to  shoot  the  elephant." 

At  this  threat  she  obeyed,  especially  as  she 
now  completely  trusted  the  elephant,  and  she 
felt  sure  that  on  no  account  would  he  hurt 
Stasch. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     327 

The  boy  stood  four  feet  away  from  the 
giant,  his  eyes  riveted  on  him.  Several  minutes 
elapsed,  then  the  situation  became  decidedly 
dangerous.  The  elephant's  ears  moved  back- 
wards and  forwards  several  times,  and  he  had 
a  peculiar  twinkle  in  his  little  eyes;  he  raised 
his  trunk  suddenly. 

Stasch  turned  pale. 

"Death!"  he  thought. 

But  the  colossus  as  suddenly  turned  to  the 
wall  of  the  narrow  pass,  where  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  see  Nell,  and  began  to  trumpet  more 
sadly  than  ever  before. 

Stasch  now  advanced  toward  the  passage, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  rock  he  found 
Nell,  who  would  not  return  to  the  tree  alone. 

The  boy  felt  inclined  to  say  to  her:  "See 
what  you  have  done!  A  little  more  and  I 
should  have  perished,  and  you  would  have  been 
to  blame."  But  this  was  not  the  time  to  re- 
proach her,  for  the  rain  had  become  a  storm, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  get  home  as  quickly  as 
possible.  Nell  was  quite  wet,  notwithstanding 
that  Stasch  had  wrapped  her  in  his  own 
coat. 

When  inside  the  tree  Stasch  ordered  the 
negress  to  change  Nell's  clothes  immediately. 
He  released  Saba,  who  had  been  tied  up  in  the 
men's  room  for  fear  he  would  scent  the  game 
and  frighten  it  away;  then  Stasch  began  to 
hunt  through  all  the  clothing  and  baggage 
once  more,  in  hopes  of  finding  a  small  dose  of 


328      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

quinine  which  might  have  been  overlooked. 
But  he  found  nothing.  There  only  remained  a 
little  white  powder  in  a  corner  of  the  bottom 
of  the  vessel  which  the  missionary  in  Khartum 
had  given  him,  but  so  little  that  it  was  hardly 
enough  to  whiten  the  tip  of  one's  finger.  He 
therefore  decided  to  pour  boiling  water  into 
the  receptacle  and  give  this  water  to  Nell  to 
drink. 

As  soon  as  the  storm  subsided  and  the  sun 
had  come  out  again,  he  left  the  tree  to  look  at 
the  fish  caught  by  Kali.  The  negro  had  caught 
about  ten  with  a  wire,  which  he  had  used  for  a 
line.  Most  of  them  were  small,  but  there  were 
three  a  foot  long,  with  silver  spots,  and  of  very 
light  weight.  Mea,  who  had  grown  up  on  the 
banks  of  the  blue  Nile,  and  knew  about  the  fish, 
said  that  these  were  very  good  to  eat,  and  that 
at  night  they  jump  high  out  of  the  water. 
While  cleaning  them  it  was  found  that  they 
were  so  fight  because  they  had  large  air  blad- 
ders inside  them.  Stasch  took  one  of  these  little 
skins,  which  was  the  size  of  a  large  apple,  and 
showed  it  to  Nell. 

"Look,"  said  he,  "this  was  inside  the  fish. 
A  pane  for  our  window  could  be  made  from  a 
quantity  of  these  bladders."  And  he  pointed 
to  the  upper  opening  in  the  tree. 

Then  he  thought  for  a  minute  and  added: 

"And  something  else." 

"What?"  asked  Nell,  very  curious. 

"Kites." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     329 

"Like  those  you  used  to  fly  in  Port  Said? 
Oh,  good!     Make  some  like  them!" 

"I  will;  I  will  make  the  small  frames  out  of 
thin  strips  of  bamboo,  and  use  these  bladders 
instead  of  paper.  They  will  be  lighter  and 
better  than  paper  and  the  rain  will  not  pene- 
trate them.  Such  a  kite  will  fly  very  high,  and 
in  a  strong  wind  it  will  fly — Heaven  knows 
where." 

Then  he  suddenly  tapped  his  forehead. 

"I  have  an  idea!" 

"What  is  it?" 

"You  will  see.  As  soon  as  my  plan  is  formed 
you  shall  know  all  about  it.  And  now  the 
elephant  is  trumpeting  so  loud  we  can't  hear 
ourselves  talk." 

In  fact,  the  elephant  trumpeted  so  loudly 
and  continuously  because  he  was  lonesome  for 
Nell,  and  perhaps  for  both  children,  that  it 
shook  the  whole  gorge  and  the  neighboring 
trees. 

"If  we  let  him  see  us,"  said  Nell,  "it  may  quiet 
him."  So  they  walked  toward  the  gorge.  But 
Stasch,  quite  taken  up  with  his  new  idea,  be- 
gan to  mutter  to  himself: 

"Nell  Rawlison  and  Stanislaus  Tarkowski, 
from  Port  Said,  who  have  escaped  from  the 
hands  of  the  Dervishes,  are  to  be  found " 

And  taking  breath,  he  asked  himself: 

"Yes,  yes,  but  where  shall  I  say — where?" 

"What,  Stasch?" 

"Nothing,  nothing!     I  have  it  now:  'They 


330     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

can  be  found  a  month's  journey  away  to  the 
east  of  the  blue  Nile — and  beg  for  immediate 
assistance.'  When  there  is  a  north  or  west 
wind  I  will  send  up  twenty,  fifty,  one  hundred 
of  such  kites,  and  you,  Nell,  will  help  me  to 
stick  them  together." 

"Kites?" 

"Yes,  and  I  tell  you  this  much — they  may 
be  of  more  service  to  us  than  even  ten  ele- 
phants." 

Meanwhile  they  had  reached  the  edge  of  the 
precipice,  and  once  more  the  colossus  began  to 
move  from  one  foot  to  the  other,  to  shake  him- 
self, to  prick  up  his  ears,  and  as  soon  as  Nell 
went  away  for  a  minute  he  began  trumpeting 
again.  At  last  the  girl  explained  to  the  "dear 
elephant"  that  they  could  not  always  stay  with 
him,  for  they  had  to  sleep,  eat,  work,  and  at- 
tend to  household  duties  in  "Cracow."  He 
was  only  pacified  when  she  threw  down  to  him 
the  food  Kali  had  prepared  for  him,  but  in  the 
evening  the  trumpeting  began  again.  That 
night  the  children  named  him  the  "King,"  for 
Nell  insisted  that  before  he  entered  the  gorge  he 
must  have  been  the  king  over  all  the  elephants 
of  Africa. 

CHAPTER   VIII 

TA  URiNG  the  days  that  followed,  when  it  did 
-*^  not  rain,  Nell  spent  most  of  her  time  with 
King,  who  now  made  no  objection  to  her  go- 
ing away,  because  he  found  that  she  returned 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     331 

frequently  during  the  day.  Kali,  who  was 
afraid  of  elephants,  was  very  much  surprised 
at  this,  but  at  last  they  convinced  him  that  the 
great  and  good  "Msimu"  had  bewitched  the 
giant,  and  he  too  began  to  visit  it.  King  was 
kindly  disposed  to  him  and  also  to  Mea;  but 
Nell  was  the  only  one  who  could  do  what  she 
liked  with  him,  and  a  week  later  she  ventured 
to  take  Saba  along  with  her.  Stasch  felt  very 
much  relieved,  for  without  worry  he  now  could 
leave  Nell  in  the  care  of — or,  as  he  expressed 
himself,  "under  the  trunk"  of — the  elephant, 
go  hunting,  and  sometimes  even  take  Kali 
along  without  feeling  any  anxiety.  He  felt 
certain  that  the  animal  would  not  now  leave 
them  under  any  circumstances,  and  he  began 
to  ponder  as  to  how  he  could  release  King  from 
his  imprisonment. 

He  had  long  ago  fully  decided  on  his  plan 
of  action ;  but  the  sacrifice  it  demanded  was  so 
great  that  he  considered  a  long  while  before 
attempting  it,  and  even  then  put  it  off  from 
day  to  day.  As  he  had  no  one  else  with  whom 
to  talk  the  matter  over,  he  finally  decided  to 
confide  his  plans  to  Nell,  although  he  still  looked 
upon  her  as  a  child. 

"The  rock  could  be  blasted,"  said  he,  "but 
that  would  mean  the  destruction  of  a  great 
many  cartridges,  for  the  bullets  would  have 
to  be  removed,  and  the  powder  poured  out 
until  enough  was  obtained.  This  I  would  put 
into  the  deep  crevice  in  the  middle  of  the  rock. 


332      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

cover  it  up,  and  light  it.  The  rock  would  then 
be  blown  to  pieces,  and  we  could  let  King  out." 

"But  suppose  that  were  to  make  a  dreadful 
noise — wouldn't  he  be  frightened?" 

"Then  let  him  be  frightened  I"  replied  Stasch 
quickly.  "That  is  the  least  thing  that  worries 
me.  Nell,  it  really  is  not  worth  while  talking 
seriously  to  you." 

Nevertheless  he  continued  talking,  or  rather 
thinking  aloud: 

"If  too  Httle  powder  be  used  the  rock  will 
not  split,  and  the  powder  will  be  wasted,  and 
yet  if  enough  be  put  in  there  will  not  be  much 
left  over;  besides,  if  it  were  to  explode  pre- 
maturely we  might  be  killed.  Then  what  would 
be  left  to  hunt  with,  what  to  defend  us  with  in 
case  of  an  attack?  You  know  quite  well  that  if 
I  had  not  had  this  rifle  and  these  cartridges  we 
should  long  since  have  lost  our  lives,  either 
when  in  Gebhr's  hands  or  from  starvation.  We 
are  lucky,  too,  in  having  horses,  for  by  our- 
selves we  could  not  carry  either  the  baggage  or 
the  cartridges." 

Thereupon  Nell  put  out  her  forefinger  and 
said  very  emphatically: 

"If  I  tell  King  to  do  it,  he  will  carry  every- 
thing." 

"What  burdens  will  he  have  to  carry;  we 
have  very  few  things  left." 

"Nevertheless,  he  will  protect  us " 

"But  he  can  not  shoot  game  with  his  trunk 
as  I  can  with  my  rifle." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     333 

"Well,  we  can  eat  figs  and  the  large  pump- 
kin-like fruits  that  grow  on  the  trees,  and  Kali 
can  catch  fish." 

"Yes,  as  long  as  we  stay  near  a  stream.  We 
must  stay  here  and  wait  until  the  rainy  season 
is  over,  for  these  continual  showers  are  sure  to 
give  you  the  fever.  Remember  that  we  must 
continue  our  journey  later,  and  we  may  pos- 
sibly strike  a  desert." 

"Like  the  Sahara?"  asked  Nell,  much 
alarmed. 

"No;  but  one  without  streams  and  fruit- 
trees  and  acacias  and  mimosas.  In  a  place 
like  that  one  can  only  live  on  game.  King 
would  find  grass,  and  I  antelopes,  but  if  I  have 
nothing  to  shoot  them  with  King  could  not 
capture  them." 

Stasch  certainly  had  reason  to  be  worried, 
for  now  that  the  elephant  was  tame  and  had 
become  so  well  acquainted  with  them,  it  would 
not  be  right  to  desert  him  and  leave  him  to 
starve ;  on  the  other  hand,  releasing  him  meant 
losing  most  of  the  ammunition  and  certainly 
risking  death. 

And  so  Stasch  put  the  work  off  from  day  to 
day,  every  evening  repeating  to  himself:  "Per- 
haps I  may  think  of  some  other  way  to-morrow." 

Meanwhile  other  troubles  came  upon  them. 

In  the  first  place  Kali  had  been  terribly  tor- 
tured by  bees  when  he  went  far  down  the 
stream  after  a  rather  small  gray-green  bird,  a 
so-called  bee-hawk,  well  known  in  Africa.    The 


334     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

black  boy  had  been  too  lazy  to  smoke  the  bees 
out,  and  although  he  returned  with  some  honey, 
he  was  so  stung  and  swollen  that  an  hour  later 
he  became  unconscious.  The  "good  Msimu," 
with  Mea's  assistance,  drew  out  the  poisonous 
stings,  and  then  quickly  made  him  poultices 
of  wet  mud.  But  toward  morning  it  seemed 
as  though  the  poor  negro  would  die.  Fortu- 
nately, good  care  and  a  strong  constitution 
triumphed,  but  it  was  ten  days  before  he  re- 
gained his  usual  health. 

In  the  second  place,  something  had  gone 
wrong  with  the  horses.  Stasch,  who  was 
obliged  to  tie  them  up  and  lead  them  to  water 
during  Kali's  illness,  discovered  that  they  were 
beginning  to  get  very  lean.  This  certainly 
was  not  caused  by  insufficient  food,  for  the 
grass  was  very  luxuriant  after  the  rain,  making 
very  good  pasture.  And  yet  the  horses 
dwindled  before  his  eyes.  A  few  days  later 
their  hair  began  to  fall  out,  their  eyes  had  lost 
their  brilliancy,  and  a  thick  slime  ran  from 
their  nostrils.  Finally  they  refused  to  graze, 
and  drank  a  great  deal,  as  though  consumed  by 
fever.  When  Kali  saw  them  they  were  noth- 
ing but  skin  and  bones,  and  he  knew  at  once 
what  was  the  matter. 

"Tsetse !"  said  he,  turning  to  Stasch.  "They 
must  die!" 

Stasch  knew  what  this  meant,  for  in  Port 
Said  he  had  often  heard  of  an  African  fly  called 
"tsetse,"  which  is  such  a  terrible  plague  in  cer- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     335 

tain  places  that  in  districts  permanently  in- 
fected with  it  the  negroes  own  no  cattle,  for 
where  circumstances  favor  its  multiplying  it 
destroys  animals  in  no  time.  Horses,  cattle, 
and  donkeys  which  have  been  bitten  by  the 
tsetse-fly  pine  and  die  in  a  few  days.  Animals 
inhabiting  these  districts  know  the  danger  that 
threatens  them,  for  entire  herds  of  cattle,  on 
hearing  the  buzzing  near  their  watering-places, 
are  so  frightened  that  they  stampede  in  every 
direction. 

Stasch's  horses  had  been  stung  by  these  flies, 
and  not  only  the  horses,  but  the  donkey,  too. 
Kali  rubbed  them  daily  with  a  plant  that 
smelled  like  an  onion,  which  he  found  in  the 
jungle.  He  said  that  the  smell  of  it  would 
drive  away  the  "tsetse";  but  notwithstanding 
all  his  efforts  the  horses  continued  to  grow 
thinner.  Stasch  was  terrified  when  he  thought 
of  what  would  happen  if  all  the  animals  were 
to  die.  How  could  Nell,  the  rugs,  the  tent,  the 
cartridges,  and  the  crockery  be  taken  along? 
There  were  so  many  things  that  at  best  King 
was  the  only  one  who  could  carry  them.  But 
to  release  King  would  mean  sacrificing  two- 
thirds  of  the  gunpowder. 

Further  and  greater  troubles  were  now 
heaped  on  Stasch's  head,  like  the  clouds  in  the 
heavens,  which  rained  down  incessantly  in  the 
jungle.  And  at  last  came  the  greatest  mis- 
fortune, the  one  before  which  everything  else 
seemed  as  nothing — the  fever. 


336      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER    IX 

ONE  day  at  table,  just  as  Nell  was  putting 
a  small  piece  of  smoked  meat  into  her 
mouth,  she  drew  back  suddenly,  as  if  disgusted, 
and  said: 

"I  can't  eat  anything  to-day." 

Stasch,  who  had  found  out  from  Kali  where 
the  bees  were,  and  had  smoked  them  out  daily 
and  taken  the  honey,  was  certain  that  the  child 
had  eaten  too  much  of  the  sweets,  and  there- 
fore he  paid  no  further  attention  to  her  loss 
of  appetite.  But  presently  she  arose  and  be- 
gan to  run  quickly  round  and  round  the  camp- 
fire,  each  time  making  larger  circles. 

"Don't  go  too  far  away,"  called  the  boy  to 
her;  "something  might  happen  to  you." 

But  he  was  not  afraid  of  any  harm  coming 
to  her,  for  the  presence  of  the  elephant,  whom 
the  wild  animals  scented,  and  his  trumpeting, 
that  reached  their  keen,  attentive  ears,  kept 
them  at  a  respectful  distance.  This  afforded 
protection  to  them  as  well  as  their  horses,  be- 
cause even  the  most  ferocious  beasts  of  prey  in 
the  jungle,  such  as  lions,  panthers,  and  leopards, 
do  not  care  to  come  in  contact  with  an  elephant, 
or  in  too  close  proximity  to  his  tusks  and  trunk. 

As  the  girl  continued  running  faster  and 
faster  around  the  fire,  Stasch  followed  her  and 
asked : 

"Nell,  you  little  moth,  why  do  you  run 
around  the  fire  like  that?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     337 

Though  he  asked  this  in  a  cheerful  voice,  he 
had  begun  to  be  alarmed,  and  his  uneasiness 
increased  as  Nell  answered: 

"I  don't  know;  I  can't  sit  still  in  one  place.'* 

"What's  the  matter?" 

"I  feel  so  uncomfortable  and  queer " 

All  at  once  she  leaned  her  head  on  his  shoul- 
der, as  if  confessing  a  fault,  and  cried  out  in 
a  voice  stifled  by  tears: 

"Stasch,  I  must  be  ill." 

"Nell!" 

At  the  same  time  he  laid  the  palm  of  his 
hand  on  her  forehead,  which  felt  dry  and  as 
cold  as  ice.  Then  he  took  her  in  his  arms  and 
carried  her  to  the  camp-fire. 

"Are  you  cold?"  he  asked  on  the  way. 

"Cold  and  hot,  but  mostly  cold." 

Her  teeth  began  to  chatter,  and  her  body  was 
shaking  with  chills.  Stasch  was  now  convinced 
that  Nell  had  the  fever. 

He  told  Mea  to  take  her  at  once  into  the 
tree,  to  undress  her,  and  put  her  to  bed.  Then 
he  covered  her  up  with  everything  he  could 
find,  for  he  had  noticed  that  in  Khartum  and 
Fashoda  fever  patients  covered  themselves  up 
with  sheep  skins  to  induce  perspiration.  He 
decided  to  stay  with  Nell  all  night  and  give  her 
hot  water  and  mead  to  drink.  At  first  she  did 
not  want  to  take  it.  By  the  light  of  their 
rudely  made  lamp  Stasch  noticed  the  glisten- 
ing pupils  of  her  eyes.  Soon  she  began  com- 
plaining of  the  heat  and  shivering  at  the  same 


338      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

time,  although  covered  with  felt  rugs  and  a 
shawl.  Her  hands  and  forehead  were  always 
cold,  but  if  Stasch  had  only  had  a  slight  knowl- 
edge of  the  symptoms  of  the  fever  he  would 
have  seen  from  her  great  restlessness  that  she 
must  have  a  very  high  temperature.  He  was 
terrified  on  noticing  that  when  Mea  appeared 
with  hot  water  the  girl  looked  at  her  with 
astonishment,  even  with  fear,  and  did  not  seem 
to  recognize  her  at  first.  But  with  him  she 
talked  rationally,  told  him  that  she  could  not 
lie  down  any  longer,  and  begged  him  to  let  her 
get  up  and  run  about.  Then  she  asked  him 
whether  he  was  angry  with  her  for  being  ill, 
and  on  his  assuring  her  that  this  was  not  the 
case  she  blinked  to  drive  back  her  tears,  and 
promised  that  she  would  be  well  the  next 
day. 

During  this  evening,  or  rather  this  night,  the 
elephant  was  particularly  restless  and  roared 
incessantly,  which  set  Saba  barking  again. 
Stasch  perceived  that  this  excited  the  patient, 
and  so  he  left  the  tree  to  quiet  the  animals. 
Saba  was  easily  pacified,  but  it  was  more  diffi- 
cult to  silence  the  elephant,  and  Stasch  threw 
several  melons  down  to  him  so  as  to  close  his 
trunk  for  a  while.  On  his  return  he  saw 
by  the  light  of  the  fire  Kali  walking  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  stream  and  carrying  a  piece  of 
smoked  meat  on  his  shoulder. 

"What  are  you  doing,  and  where  are  you 
going?"  he  asked  the  negro. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     339 

The  black  boy  stood  still,  and  as  Stasch  ap- 
proached he  said  with  an  air  of  secrecy: 

"Kali  goes  to  the  other  tree  to  place  meat 
there  for  the  bad  Msimu." 

"Why!" 

"So  the  bad  Msimu  will  not  kill  good 
Msimu." 

Stasch  wanted  to  reply,  but  a  strange  pain 
pressed  like  a  weight  on  his  chest,  so  he  only 
bit  his  lips  and  went  silently  away. 

When  he  returned  to  the  tree  Nell  had  closed 
her  eyes ;  her  hands,  which  lay  on  the  felt  rug, 
were  trembling  very  much,  but  still  she  ap- 
peared to  be  dozing.  Stasch  sat  down  by  her 
side,  and  as  he  was  afraid  of  awaking  her,  he 
remained  there  motionless  for  some  time.  Mea, 
who  was  seated  on  the  other  side,  toyed  all  the 
time  with  the  little  pieces  of  ivory  hanging 
in  her  ears  in  order  to  keep  awake.  It  had  be- 
come very  quiet,  and  only  from  the  lower  bed 
of  the  stream,  in  the  direction  of  the  swamp, 
could  the  croaking  of  the  frogs  and  the  mourn- 
ful tooting  of  the  toads  be  heard. 

Suddenly  Nell  raised  herself  up  in  bed. 

"Stasch!" 

"Here  I  am,  Nell." 

Then,  shaking  like  a  leaf  blown  by  the  wind, 
she  eagerly  began  to  search  for  his  hand  and 
to  repeat  hastily: 

"I'm  frightened;  I'm  frightened!  Give  me 
your  hand!" 

"Don't  be  frightened.    I'm  here  with  you." 


340      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

And  he  grasped  her  hand,  which  now  burned 
like  fire,  and  having  no  idea  what  to  do,  he 
began  to  cover  the  poor,  wretched  little  hand 
with  kisses. 

"Don't  be  frightened,  Nell;  don't  be  fright- 
ened." 

Then  he  gave  her  a  drink  of  honey  mixed 
with  water,  which  had  become  cold.  This  time 
Nell  drank  greedily,  and  when  he  tried  to  take 
the  cup  away  from  her  mouth  she  held  his 
hands  tight.  The  cold  drink  seemed  to  quiet 
her. 

A  long  silence  ensued.  Half  an  hour  later 
Nell  raised  herself  up  again,  and  there  was  a 
terrible  expression  of  fright  in  her  wide-open 
eyes. 

"Stasch!" 

"What  is  it,  my  dear?" 

"Why,"  she  asked  in  a  trembling,  uncertain 
voice,  "why  do  Gebhr  and  Chamis  walk  around 
the  tree  and  look  in  at  me?" 

Stasch  suddenly  felt  as  if  thousands  of  ants 
had  taken  possession  of  him. 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  he  said. 
"There's  no  one  here.  Kali  is  the  only  one 
walking  around  the  tree." 

But  she  stared  through  the  dark  opening 
and  cried  with  chattering  teeth: 

"And  the  Bedouins!  Why  did  you  kill 
them?" 

Stasch  put  his  arm  around  her  and  pressed 
her  to  him. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     341 

"You  know  why!  Don't  look  over  there! 
Don't  think  of  it!    That  happened  long  ago." 

"To-day!     To-day! " 

This  had  happened  a  long  time  ago,  but  it 
always  came  back  to  her  like  the  wave  that  rolls 
back  upon  the  shore,  and  it  filled  the  mind  of  the 
sick  child  with  horror.  All  attempts  to  quiet  her 
were  unavailing.  Nell's  eyes  grew  larger  and 
larger.  Her  heart  beat  so  hard  that  it  seemed 
as  if  it  would  burst.  Then  she  began  to  twist 
and  throw  herself  around  like  a  fish  drawn  out 
of  the  water,  and  that  condition  lasted  till 
nearly  morning.  Not  until  daybreak  did  her 
strength  give  out  and  her  little  head  sink  back 
on  the  pillow. 

"I'm  weak,  weak,  weak!"  she  repeated. 
"Stasch,  I  seem  to  be  falling  down  some  place." 
And  then  she  closed  her  eyes. 

At  first  Stasch  was  overcome,  for  he  thought 
she  was  dead.  But  this  was  only  the  end  of 
the  first  paroxysm  of  this  terrible  and  treacher- 
ous African  fever,  two  attacks  of  which  are  as 
much  as  a  strong,  robust  person  can  stand — 
for  nobody  has  ever  survived  a  third  attack. 
Travelers  had  often  described  the  fever  when 
at  Mr.  Rawlison's  house  in  Port  Said,  and 
even  more  frequently  the  Catholic  missionaries 
whom  Mr.  Tarkowski  entertained  on  their  way 
back  to  Europe  had  told  about  it.  It  seems 
that  a  second  attack  comes  on  after  a  few  days, 
and  a  third,  which,  if  it  does  not  appear  within 
two  weeks,  is  not  fatal,  for  then  it  is  considered 


342     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

to  be  the  first  attack  of  another  case.  Stasch 
knew  that  heavy  doses  of  quinine  alone  could 
stop  or  alleviate  the  attacks,  and  he  had  not 
a  particle  of  it  left. 

Seeing  that  Nell  was  still  breathing,  he  be- 
came somewhat  composed,  and  began  to  pray 
for  her.  In  the  meanwhile  the  sun  appeared 
from  behind  the  cliffs  in  the  gorge,  and  it  be- 
came bright  daylight.  The  elephant  was 
already  demanding  his  breakfast,  and  from  the 
direction  of  the  stream  the  screams  of  the 
water-birds  could  be  heard.  As  the  boy  wanted 
to  shoot  some  birds  to  make  a  broth  for  Nell, 
he  took  the  rifle  and  walked  along  the  edge  of 
the  stream  to  a  group  of  high  shrubs,  in  which 
the  birds  generally  perched  for  the  night.  But 
he  was  so  exhausted  from  loss  of  sleep,  and  his 
mind  was  so  preoccupied  with  the  thought  of 
the  girl's  illness,  that  he  did  not  see  a  swarm 
of  birds,  walking  slowly  in  single  file,  that 
passed  him  on  their  way  to  drink.  Another 
reason  why  he  did  not  see  them  was  that  he  was 
constantly  praying.  He  thought  of  the  deaths 
of  Gebhr  and  Chamis  and  the  Bedouins,  and 
lifting  his  eyes  toward  heaven,  he  said  in  a 
voice  drowned  with  emotion:  "Dear  Lord,  I 
did  this  for  Nell,  for  Nell;  for  otherwise  it 
would  have  been  impossible  to  have  regained 
our  freedom — but  if  I  committed  a  sin,  punish 
me,  but  restore  her  to  health " 

On  the  way  he  met  Kali,  who  had  gone  to 
see  if  the  wicked  Msimu  had  eaten  the  meat 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     343 

he  had  offered  him  the  day  before.  The  young 
negro,  who  loved  the  Httle  "Bibi,"  prayed  for 
her,  too,  but  in  quite  a  different  way.  For  he 
told  the  wicked  Msimu  that  if  "Bibi"  recovered 
he  would  bring  him  a  piece  of  meat  every  day, 
but  if  she  died  he  would — although  he  felt 
frightened  and  knew  he  would  perish — tear  the 
wicked  Msimu's  skin  to  shreds  and  cause  him 
to  remember  him  forever.  But  he  took  courage 
when  he  saw  that  the  piece  of  meat  he  had 
placed  there  the  day  before  had  disappeared. 
It  might  have  been  devoured  by  a  jackal,  but 
then  Msimu  might  have  taken  the  form  of  a 
jackal. 

Kali  told  Stasch  of  this  favorable  omen,  but 
Stasch  only  gazed  at  him  as  if  he  did  not  un- 
derstand, and  went  on  his  way.  While  vainly 
searching  for  birds  in  the  shrubbery,  he  ap- 
proached the  stream.  Its  banks  were  thickly 
wooded  with  tall  trees,  from  which  hung, 
like  stockings,  nests  of  the  Remizen — pretty 
little  yellow  birds  with  black  wings — and 
also  wasps'  nests,  shaped  like  large  roses, 
and  resembling  gray  blotting-paper.  At 
one  point  the  stream  formed  a  fairly  broad, 
swampy  plain,  which  was  partly  overgrown 
with  papyrus.  In  this  swampy  stretch  of  land 
were  many  flocks  of  water-birds.  There  were 
storks,  like  the  European  ones,  and  others  with 
large,  thick,  hooked  beaks ;  velvety  black  birds 
with  blood-red  feet,  flamingoes,  ibises,  and 
white  spoon-bills  with  pink  wings  and  spoon 


344     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

beaks,  cranes  with  crowns  on  their  heads,  and  a 
number  of  gulls,  variegated  or  gray  as  mice, 
which,  like  tiny  forest  sprites,  ran  to  and  fro 
on  their  long,  thin,  straw-like  legs. 

Stasch  shot  two  large,  bright-colored  ducks, 
and  walking  over  dead  white  butterflies,  which 
were  strewn  over  the  banks  by  the  thousand, 
first  making  sure  there  were  no  crocodiles  in 
the  ford,  he  waded  into  the  water  and  picked 
up  the  game.  The  shot  had  evidently  fright- 
ened away  the  birds,  for  there  remained  only 
two  marabous,  that  stood  near  the  water  at  a 
short  distance  away.  They  resembled  two  old 
men,  with  bald  heads  bowed  down  on  their 
shoulders.  They  did  not  move.  The  boy  took 
another  look  at  their  ugly  food  bags,  hanging 
down  on  their  breasts,  then  finding  that  the 
wasps  were  surrounding  him,  he  returned  to 
the  camp. 

Nell  was  still  asleep,  so  he  gave  the  ducks 
to  Mea  and  then  stretched  himself  out  on  a 
felt  rug  and  at  once  fell  into  a  heavy  sleep. 
He  did  not  awaken  until  the  afternoon,  a  little 
earlier  than  Nell.  The  girl  felt  somewhat 
stronger,  and  being  slightly  refreshed,  she 
drank  some  good,  strong  broth,  arose  and  left 
the  tree  to  look  at  King  and  the  sun.  Only 
now,  by  daylight,  could  be  seen  the  ravages 
made  by  the  fever  in  one  night.  Nell's  skin  was 
yellow  and  transparent,  her  lips  were  black, 
there  were  large  circles  under  her  eyes,  and  her 
little  face  looked  much  older.    Notwithstand- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     345 

ing  that  she  assured  Stasch  she  felt  quite 
strong,  and  even  though  she  had  drunk  a  large 
cup  of  soup  on  awakening,  she  was  hardly  able 
to  drag  herself  to  the  edge  of  the  gorge.  Stasch 
was  terrified  at  the  thought  of  the  second  at- 
tack. He  had  no  medicine,  nor  anything  else 
to  help  her. 

Meanwhile,  there  were  several  heavy  showers 
every  day,  and  this  greatly  increased  the  hu- 
midity in  the  air. 

CHAPTER   X 

THEY  passed  anxious  days  awaiting  the  re- 
turn of  the  fever,  but  the  second  attack 
did  not  appear  for  a  week,  and  though  it  was 
not  so  violent  as  the  previous  one,  Nell  felt 
much  weaker  after  it.  She  had  become  so  thin 
and  had  lost  so  much  weight  that  she  did  not 
look  like  a  girl,  but  rather  like  the  ghost  of  a 
girl.  The  little  flame  of  her  life  flickered  so 
feebly  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  breath  would  blow 
it  out.  Stasch  realized  that  death  would  not 
have  to  wait  for  a  third  attack  to  carry  her 
off,  and  he  expected  her  death  from  day  to  day, 
even  from  hour  to  hour. 

He,  too,  had  become  quite  thin  and  dark,  for 
these  misfortunes  were  more  than  his  bodily 
and  mental  strength  could  stand.  Each  day 
as  he  looked  into  Nell's  face  he  often  said  to 
himself,  "My  reward  for  having  cherished  her 
as  the  apple  of  my  eye  will  be  the  privilege  of 


346     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

burying  her  in  the  jungle!"  Why  it  should 
have  come  to  this  he  could  not  imagine.  At 
times  he  reproached  himself  for  not  having 
taken  sufficient  care  of  her,  and  for  not  having 
treated  her  as  kindly  as  he  should,  and  then  he 
felt  such  a  pain  in  his  heart  that  he  could  have 
bitten  his  fingers  for  grief.  This  misfortune 
was  overwhelming. 

Nell  now  slept  almost  continually,  which  per- 
haps saved  her  life.  But  Stasch  awakened  her 
several  times  during  the  day  to  give  her  some 
strengthening  food.  Whenever  it  was  not 
raining  she  would  beg  him  to  carry  her  out  into 
the  open  air,  for  she  was  unable  to  stand.  It 
often  happened  that  she  went  to  sleep  even  as 
he  carried  her  in  his  arms.  She  knew  that  she 
was  very  ill,  and  that  she  might  die  at  any  time. 
At  first,  when  she  was  a  httle  better  and 
felt  inclined,  she  would  talk  about  it  to  Stasch, 
all  the  time  crying,  for  she  was  afraid  of 
death. 

"I  shall  never  return  to  papa,"  she  once  said. 
"But  you  must  tell  him  that  the  thought  of  it 
made  me  very  sorry,  and  ask  him  to  come  here 
to  me." 

"You  will  return,"  answered  Stasch. 

But  he  was  unable  to  say  any  more,  for  he 
wanted  to  cry. 

And  Nell  continued  in  a  scarcely  audible  and 
sleepy  voice: 

"And  papa  will  come  here,  and  you  will 
come  back  here  again,  too,  won't  you?"    At 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     347 

this  thought  a  smile  lit  up  her  tiny,  wan  face, 
and  then  she  whispered  still  more  softly : 

"But  I  am  so  sorry " 

At  the  same  time  she  leaned  her  little  head 
on  his  shoulder  and  began  to  cry,  but  he,  con- 
quering his  own  emotion,  pressed  her  to  his 
heart,  and  answered  quickly: 

"Nell,  without  you  I  shall  not  return,  and 
— and  in  fact  I  don't  even  know  what  I  should 
do  without  you." 

Both  became  silent,  and  Nell  fell  asleep 
again.  Stasch  carried  her  back  to  the  tree, 
but  hardly  had  he  stepped  out  of  the  dwelling 
than  Kali  came  running  down  from  the  high- 
est point  of  the  neck  of  land,  gesticulating  with 
his  hands,  and  crying  out  in  an  excited  and 
terrified  voice: 

"Great  Man,  Great  Man!" 

"What  do  you  want?"  asked  Stasch. 

And  the  negro  extended  his  hand,  pointing 
to  the  south,  and  cried,  "Smoke!" 

Shading  his  eyes  with  the  hollow  of  his 
hand,  Stasch  gazed  attentively  in  the  direction 
indicated,  the  red  light  of  the  setting  sun  en- 
abling him  to  see  a  column  of  smoke  ascending 
in  the  midst  of  the  jungle  between  the  peaks 
of  two  rather  high  hills. 

Kali  trembled  from  head  to  foot,  for  he  still 
had  a  vivid  recollection  of  their  capture  by  the 
Dervishes,  and  he  felt  sure  that  the  smoke  came 
from  their  camp. 

At  last  Stasch  also  thought  that  it  must 


348     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

come  from  Smain's  camp,  and  so  for  a  moment 
he  was  as  much  frightened  as  Kali.  This  was 
the  cHmax — to  have,  in  addition  to  Nell's  deadly 
illness,  the  Dervishes  come  upon  them,  to  be 
taken  prisoners  again,  and  carried  back  to 
Fashoda  or  Khartum  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mahdi,  or  under  Abdullah's  whip!  If  they 
should  be  captured  Nell  would  doubtless  die 
the  very  first  day,  and  he  would  be  a  slave  for 
life.  For,  even  if  he  were  to  escape,  what  was 
life,  what  was  freedom  without  Nell?  How 
could  he  look  into  the  eyes  of  his  father  or  Mr. 
Rawlison  if  the  Dervishes  were  to  throw  Nell's 
body  to  the  hyenas  and  he  could  not  tell  where 
her  grave  was? 

Such  thoughts  shot  through  his  head  like 
lightning.  Suddenly  he  felt  an  uncontrollable 
desire  to  look  at  Nell,  and  he  went  toward  the 
tree.  On  the  way  he  ordered  Kali  to  put  out 
the  fire,  and  forbade  him  building  it  during 
the  night ;  then  he  entered  the  tree. 

Nell  was  not  asleep.  She  felt  better,  as  she 
immediately  told  Stasch.  Saba  lay  at  her  side 
and  warmed  her  with  his  enormous  body;  she 
softly  stroked  his  head  and  smiled  when  he 
tried  to  catch  the  little  grains  of  mold  that  were 
flying  about  in  the  streak  of  light  which  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  threw  into  the  hol- 
low of  the  tree.  She  was  evidently  in  a  more 
cheerful  mood  than  usual,  for  a  little  later  she 
turned  to  Stasch  quite  pleased  and  said; 

"Perhaps  I  may  not  die  after  all." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     349 

"You  certainly  will  not  die,"  answered 
Stasch,  "for  as  you  feel  stronger  after  the  sec- 
ond attack,  you  will  never  have  a  third." 

And  she  began  blinking  as  if  trying  to  recol- 
lect something  and  then  said: 

"If  I  only  had  another  little  bitter  powder, 
like  the  one  that  did  me  so  much  good  the  night 
after  the  lion  visited  us;  you  remember,  don't 
you?  Then  I  should  not  even  think  of  dying — 
not  even  so  much " 

And  with  one  of  her  little  fingers  she  indi- 
cated how  little  she  would  be  prepared  for 
death  in  such  a  case. 

"Ah!"  cried  Stasch  excitedly,  "what  would 
I  not  give  for  a  grain  of  quinine !  I  don't  know 
what!" 

And  he  thought  to  himself  that  if  he  had 
enough  quinine  he  would  not  hesitate  to  give 
Nell  two  little  powders  at  once,  then  wrap  her 
up  in  the  shawl,  place  her  on  his  horse,  and  go 
off  immediately  in  the  opposite  direction  from 
the  camp  of  the  Dervishes. 

Meanwhile  the  sun  had  gone  down  suddenly 
and  the  jungle  was  in  darkness.  The  girl 
talked  for  nearly  half  an  hour,  and  then  went 
to  sleep,  and  Stasch  continued  to  think  about 
the  Dervishes  and  the  quinine.  Although  tor- 
tured by  sorrow  and  fright,  his  extraordinarily 
clever  brain  began  to  build  more  and  more  dar- 
ing plans.  In  the  first  place,  he  thought 
whether  or  not  this  smoke  seen  in  the  south  was 
bound  to  come  from  Smain's  camp.     It  cer- 


350     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

tainly  might  come  from  the  Dervishes'  camp, 
but  also  from  an  encampment  of  Arabians, 
who  penetrate  the  interior  of  the  continent  in 
search  of  ivory  and  slaves.  These  Arabs  were 
in  no  wise  connected  with  the  Dervishes,  who 
ruined  their  trade.  It  might  also  be  a  camp  of 
Abyssinians,  or  some  negro  village  in  the 
mountains,  into  which  the  hunters  after  human 
beings  had  not  yet  penetrated.  Would  it  not 
be  more  sensible  to  find  out  what  it  really 
was? 

The  Arabians  of  Zanzibar,  from  the  districts 
of  Bogamajo,  Witu,  and  Mombasa,  and  the 
seashore,  continually  came  in  contact  with  the 
whites,  and  who  could  tell  if  the  offer  of  a  large 
reward  would  not  induce  them  to  conduct 
Stasch  and  Nell  to  one  of  the  nearest  seaports. 
Stasch  knew  quite  well  that  he  could  promise 
them  such  a  reward,  and  that  they  would  be- 
lieve his  word.  But  another  thought  caused  him 
great  uneasiness,  for  he  noticed  that  the  Der- 
vishes, especially  those  from  Nubia,  were 
almost  as  susceptible  to  fever  in  Khartum  as 
the  whites,  and  that  they  cured  themselves  with 
quinine,  stealing  it  from  the  Europeans,  or  if 
the  renegade  Greeks  or  Copts  had  any  se- 
creted, they  bought  it  at  a  great  price.  And 
so  it  was  probable  that  the  Arabians  from  the 
borders  of  the  ocean  would  certainly  have  some 
of  it. 

"I  will  go  there,"  said  Stasch  to  himself; 
"for  Nell's  sake,  I  will  go  there!" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     351 

On  thinking  the  matter  over  more  carefully, 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  even  if  they 
should  prove  to  be  Smain's  party,  he  would 
have  to  go  there.  It  occurred  to  him  that, 
owing  to  the  complete  rupture  between  Egypt 
and  Sudan,  Smain  might  not  have  heard  that 
they  had  been  carried  away  from  Fayoum. 
Fatima  did  not  like  Smain,  and  so  the  kidnap- 
ping must  have  been  a  plan  of  her  own,  which 
had  been  executed  with  the  aid  of  Chamis  (the 
son  of  Chadigi),  and  also  of  Idris,  Gebhr,  and 
the  Bedouins.  Now,  Smain  was  not  at  all  in- 
terested in  any  of  these  people,  for  the  simple 
reason  that  Chamis  was  the  only  one  of  them 
that  he  knew,  and  he  had  never  seen  or  heard 
of  the  others.  He  was  only  interested  in  his 
own  children  and  Fatima.  Perhaps  he  longed 
as  much  for  them  as  they  did  for  him,  and 
would  be  glad  to  be  able  to  return  to  them, 
especially  if  he  were  tired  of  being  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Mahdi.  He  surely  had  not  won  a 
great  prize  while  with  them,  for  instead  of 
being  placed  in  command  of  a  large  army,  or 
made  ruler  over  a  wide  extent  of  territory,  he 
was  obliged  to  go,  heaven  knows  how  far  back 
of  Fashoda,  to  capture  slaves!  "I  shall  say  to 
him,"  thought  Stasch,  "  'If  you  will  lead  us  to 
some  harbor  on  the  Indian  Ocean  and  return 
with  us  to  Egypt,  the  government  will  forgive 
you  everj^thing,  and  you  will  be  able  to  rejoin 
your  children  and  Fatima,  besides  which  Mr. 
Rawlison  will  make  you  a  rich  man — if  not, 


352      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

you  will  never  see  your  children  or  Fatima 
again.'  " 

He  was  certain  that  Smain  would  think  well 
of  it  and  that  he  would  scarcely  refuse  such  an 
offer. 

Of  course  this  was  only  a  surmise.  In  fact, 
while  an  investigation  might  prove  their  de- 
struction, it  might  also  prove  their  deliverance, 
and  the  only  means  of  help  in  this  African 
wilderness.  Stasch  felt  surprised  at  himself 
for  being  terror-stricken  at  first  at  the  thought 
of  meeting  Smain,  but  as  it  was  necessary  to 
procure  assistance  for  Nell  as  soon  as  possible, 
he  decided  to  go  there  that  very  night. 

This  was  easier  said  than  done.  It  is  one 
thing  to  sit  at  evening  before  a  fire  in  the 
jungle,  behind  a  hedge  of  thorns,  and  another 
to  penetrate  the  dense  darkness  and  wade 
through  the  high  grass,  in  which  lions,  pan- 
thers, and  leopards,  not  to  mention  hyenas  and 
jackals,  prowl  at  this  time  of  night.  But  the 
boy  remembered  what  the  young  negro  said 
the  time  when  he  went  off  one  night  in  search 
of  Saba  and  brought  him  back,  "Kali  is  afraid, 
but  he  goes!"  and  he  repeated  to  himself,  "I 
may  be  afraid,  but  I  will  go." 

As  the  night  was  very  dark,  he  waited  until 
the  moon  rose,  and  when  its  light  shone  out 
over  the  jungle  he  called  Kali  and  said: 

"Kali,  put  Saba  inside  the  tree,  and  block 
up  the  opening  with  thorns ;  you  and  Mea  must 
guard  the  little  lady  as  the  apple  of  your  eye 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     853 

while  I  go  to  see  what  kind  of  people  are  over 
there  in  that  camp." 

"Great  Man  take  Kali  with  him  and  also  the 
rifle  which  kills  wild  beasts.  KaH  not  stay  be- 
hind!" 

"You  will  remain,"  said  Stasch  with  de- 
cision.   "I  forbid  you  to  follow  me." 

He  now  paused  a  while,  and  then  continued 
in  a  rather  hoarse  voice: 

"Kali,  you  are  faithful  and  smart,  and  I 
hope  that  you  will  do  what  I  tell  you.  Should 
I  not  return,  and  should  the  little  lady  die,  you 
must  leave  her  in  the  tree,  but  round  it  you 
must  erect  a  high  hedge,  and  carve  a  mark  like 
this  in  the  bark " 

And  picking  up  two  bamboo  sticks,  he 
placed  them  together  like  a  cross,  and  con- 
tinued : 

"And  should  I  not  return,  and  should  Bibi 
not  die,  then  you  must  serve  her  faithfully  and 
respectfully,  and  you  must  lead  her  to  your 
people,  and  tell  the  Wa-hima  warriors  to  take 
her  due  east  until  the  great  ocean  is  reached. 
There  you  will  find  white  people,  who  will  give 
you  weapons,  gunpowder,  glass  beads,  wire, 
and  as  much  canvas  as  you  can  possibly  carry. 
Do  you  understand?" 

But  the  young  negro  knelt  before  him, 
clasped  him  round  the  knees,  and  sorrowfully 
pleaded  with  him,  repeating: 

"Oh,  Bwana  Kubwa!  Return,  return,  re- 
turn!" 


354     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Stasch  was  touched  by  the  attachment  of  the 
black  boy,  and  leaning  down,  he  placed  his 
hand  on  his  head  and  said: 

"Kali,  go  to  the  tree — and — God  bless  you!" 

As  he  stood  there  alone,  he  thought  about 
taking  the  donkey  with  him.  It  would  cer- 
tainly be  safe  to  do  so,  for  the  lions  in  Africa 
(just  as  the  tigers  in  India),  on  meeting  a 
man  riding,  always  attack  the  animal  and  not 
the  man.  But  the  question  then  presented 
itself  that  if  the  donkey  were  killed,  who  would 
carry  Nell's  tent,  and  on  what  would  she  ride? 
When  he  thought  of  these  contingencies  he 
completely  gave  up  the  idea  of  taking  the 
animal  along,  and  began  making  his  way 
through  the  jungle  on  foot. 

The  moon  was  already  fairly  high  in  the 
heavens,  and  it  was  now  much  lighter.  But  the 
boy's  troubles  began  at  once,  for  he  disappeared 
in  the  grass,  which  had  grown  so  high  that  horse 
and  rider  could  easily  have  hidden  in  it.  Even 
in  the  daytime  it  was  not  possible  to  see  a  foot 
ahead,  so  one  can  imagine  what  it  was  by  night, 
when  the  moonlight  only  shone  over  the  sur- 
face, and  lower  down  everything  was  bathed 
in  utter  darkness.  Under  such  conditions  it 
was  easy  to  lose  one's  way  and  travel  in  a  circle 
instead  of  advancing.  But  Stasch  took  cour- 
age when  he  thought,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
camp  to  which  he  was  traveling  could  be  at 
the  most  only  three  or  four  English  miles  away 
from  the  neck  of  land,  and  secondly,  that  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      355 

smoke  had  appeared  between  the  peaks  of  two 
high  hills;  so  by  keeping  the  two  hills  in  view 
he  could  not  get  lost. 

But  the  grasses,  mimosas,  and  acacias  con- 
cealed everything.  Fortunately,  groups  of  ant- 
hills sometimes  more  than  ten  feet  high,  ap- 
peared here  and  there.  Stasch  carefully  laid 
aside  his  gun  when  he  came  to  each  cluster  of 
hills,  and  then  he  climbed  to  the  top,  and  on  see- 
ing the  hilltops  outlined  against  the  back- 
ground of  the  dark  sky,  he  climbed  down  again 
and  continued  his  journey. 

When  he  thought  of  what  would  happen  if 
the  sky  should  become  overcast  and  the  moon  no 
longer  shine,  he  was  verj^  much  frightened. 
But  that  was  not  the  only  danger.  In  the  dead 
silence  of  the  night  in  the  jungle  every  noise, 
every  step,  and  almost  every  sound  made  by 
the  insects  as  they  creep  through  the  grass  can 
be  heard.  The  sensation  that  comes  over  one 
is  gruesome ;  and  Stasch  was  terrified.  He  had 
to  take  precautions  against  all  sorts  of  catas- 
trophes. He  was  obliged  to  listen  attentively, 
to  keep  watch  on  all  sides,  and  to  hold  his  head 
ready  to  turn  round  like  a  screw,  and  his  rifle 
ready  to  shoot.  Every  minute  it  seemed  as 
though  some  animal  was  lying  in  ambush,  or 
was  creeping  up  near  him.  From  time  to  time 
he  heard  the  grasses  trembling  and  the  tramp- 
ing of  animals  running  away.  Then  he  thought 
that  he  must  have  frightened  off  the  antelopes, 
for  although  one  of  their  number  always  keeps 


356      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

watch,  they  sleep  very  lightly,  knowing  full  well 
that  amateur  huntsmen  do  not  go  out  hunting 
in  the  dark  at  this  time  of  night.  But  now  he 
sees  something  dark,  large,  under  an  umbrella- 
acacia.  It  may  be  a  rock,  a  rhinoceros,  or  a 
buffalo,  which  on  scenting  a  human  being  will 
awaken  and  immediately  advance  to  attack 
him,  and  he  also  sees  two  glittering  things  be- 
hind a  black  stone.  "Ha!"  Rifle  to  shoulder! 
"That's  a  lion!  No!"  False  alarm!  They  are 
fireflies,  for  a  tiny  light  rises  in  the  air  and 
glides  over  the  grass,  like  a  shooting  star  slant- 
ing downward.  Stasch  not  only  climbed  the 
ant-hills  to  make  sure  that  he  was  going  in 
the  right  direction,  but  also  to  dry  the  cold 
perspiration  which  stood  out  on  his  forehead, 
to  get  his  breath,  and  to  wait  until  his  heart 
should  cease  to  palpitate.  Besides,  he  was 
already  so  tired  that  he  could  hardly  stand. 

But  he  walked  on,  feeling  that  nothing  must 
be  left  undone  to  save  Nell.  After  two  hours 
he  came  to  a  very  stony  place,  where  the  grass 
was  lower,  and  so  it  was  much  lighter. 

The  two  peaks  looked  as  far  off  as  ever,  but 
a  little  nearer  there  were  some  rocks  running 
irregularly  in  a  transverse  direction,  above 
which  towered  a  taller  rock,  and  they  appar- 
ently encased  a  kind  of  valley  or  gorge,  re- 
sembling the  one  in  which  King  had  been 
imprisoned.  Now  on  the  side  of  the  cliff — 
about  three  or  four  hundred  feet  distant — he 
perceived  the  bright  reflection  of  a  flame. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     357 

He  stood  still.  His  heart  was  again  beating 
so  wildly  that  in  the  silence  of  the  night  he 
could  hear  it  thump.  Whom  is  he  likely  to 
encounter  down  there?  Arabians  from  the 
eastern  coast  ?  Smain's  Dervishes  ?  Or  savage 
negroes,  who  have  left  their  native  villages, 
and  fleeing  from  the  Dervishes,  have  taken 
refuge  in  the  most  impenetrable  forest  of  the 
mountains?  Will  he  there  find  death,  or  im- 
prisonment, or  perhaps  help  for  Nell? 

It  was  impossible  for  him  to  turn  back  now, 
and  besides,  he  had  no  inclination  to  do  so;  he 
crept  slowly  toward  the  fire,  stepping  as  lightly 
as  possible,  and  holding  his  breath.  After  he 
had  gone  about  a  hundred  steps,  he  suddenly 
heard  the  neighing  of  horses  in  the  jungle,  and 
he  stood  still.  By  the  light  of  the  moon  he 
counted  five.  The  Dervishes  would  have  had 
more,  so  he  supposed  that  the  others  were  prob- 
ably hidden  in  the  tall  grass.  But  he  was  sur- 
prised that  no  one  was  watching  them,  or  that 
at  least  a  fire  had  not  been  left  burning  in  order 
to  frighten  off  the  wild  beasts.  He  thanked 
God  that  things  were  as  they  were,  for  he  could 
now  advance  without  attracting  attention. 

The  light  of  the  fire  on  the  cliff  became  still 
plainer.  In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
Stasch  reached  a  place  where  the  cliff  opposite 
him  was  brilliantly  lighted,  which  satisfied  him 
that  a  fire  must  be  burning  directly  below  it. 

Crawling  on  all  fours,  he  crept  carefully  up 
to  the  side  and  looked  down. 


358      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

The  first  object  that  attracted  his  attention 
was  a  large  white  tent.  Before  the  tent  stood 
a  canvas  camp-bed,  and  on  it  lay  a  person 
wearing  white  European  clothes.  A  small 
negro,  apparently  about  twelve  years  old,  was 
throwing  dry  wood  into  the  fire,  which  illu- 
minated the  side  of  the  cliff,  and  a  row  of 
negroes  were  sleeping  on  either  side  of  the  tent. 
The  next  moment  Stasch  slid  down  the  slope 
into  the  bottom  of  the  gorge. 

CHAPTER   XI 

T^  OR  the  moment  he  was  so  weary  and  excited 
-*-  that  he  was  unable  to  utter  a  word,  and 
stood  there  gasping  for  breath  in  front  of  the 
man,  who  lay  on  the  bed,  and  who  likewise  re- 
mained silent,  gazing  at  him  with  such  utter 
amazement  that  he  was  all  but  dazed. 

At  last  the  man  cried  out: 

"Nasibu!    Are  you  there?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  young  negro. 

"Do  you  see  any  one  and  is  any  one  standing 
in  front  of  me?" 

But  before  the  boy  could  answer  Stasch  re- 
gained his  voice: 

"Sir,"  he  said,  "my  name  is  Stanislaus  Tar- 
kowski.  I  was  captured  by  the  Dervishes,  and 
have  escaped  with  little  Miss  Rawlison,  and 
we  are  hiding  in  the  jungle.  But  Nell  is  very 
ill,  and  I  pray  you  to  help  us." 

The  stranger  blinked  at  him,  then  passed 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     359 

his  hand  across  his  forehead  and  said  to  him- 
self: 

"I  not  only  see  him,  but  hear  him — it  can  not 
be  imagination — What?  Help?  I  need  help 
myself.    I'm  wounded!" 

But  suddenly  he  shook  himself,  as  if  awaken- 
ing from  a  dream  or  a  trance,  looked  round, 
and  regaining  his  presence  of  mind,  said  with 
a  gleam  of  joy  in  his  eyes: 

"A  white  boy!  I  look  upon  a  white  being 
once  more !  Welcome,  whoever  you  are.  You 
said  some  one  was  ill.   What  do  you  want  of 


me 


Stasch  repeated  that  this  sick  person  was 
Nell,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Rawlison,  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Suez  Canal;  that  she  had 
already  had  two  attacks  of  fever,  and  unless 
he  were  able  to  procure  some  quinine  to  pre- 
vent a  third  attack  she  must  die. 

"Two  attacks — that's  bad!"  answered  the 
stranger.  "But  I  can  give  you  as  much  quinine 
as  you  want.  I  have  several  jars  full  of  it, 
which  I  shall  never  need." 

At  these  words  he  told  Nasibu  to  hand  him  a 
large  tin  box,  which  evidently  contained  a  small 
medicine  chest,  and  he  took  out  of  it  two  rather 
large  jars  filled  with  a  white  powder,  and 
handed  them  to  Stasch. 

"That  is  half  of  what  I  have  left.  It  will 
last  a  year!" 

At  first  Stasch  felt  inclined  to  cry  aloud  for 
joy,  but  he  controlled  himself  and  began  to 


360     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

thank  his  new  friend  as  enthusiastically  as 
though  his  own  life  were  at  stake. 

The  stranger  nodded  his  head  several  times 
and  said: 

"Enough,  enough.  My  name  is  Linde  and 
I  am  a  Swiss,  from  Zurich.  Two  days  ago  I 
met  with  an  accident.  A  wild  beast  wounded 
me  very  severely." 

Then  he  turned  toward  the  black  boy. 

"Nasibu,  fill  my  pipe." 

Inclining  toward  Stasch,  he  continued: 

"At  night  I  always  have  more  fever  than  in 
the  daytime,  and  attacks  of  dizziness  as  well. 
But  the  pipe  brightens  me  up  and  freshens  my 
thoughts.  You  just  said  that  you  had  escaped 
from  the  Dervishes,  who  held  you  captive,  and 
that  you  had  hidden  in  the  jungle.  Am  I 
right?" 

"Yes,  sir;  that  is  what  I  said." 

"And  what  do  you  intend  to  do?" 

"To  flee  to  Abyssinia." 

"You  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Mah- 
dists,  for  whole  troupes  of  them  are  hanging 
around  the  frontier." 

"But  what  else  can  we  do?" 

"Ah,  only  a  month  ago  I  could  have  been 
of  assistance  to  you.  But  now  I  find  myself 
at  the  mercy  of  God  and  this  black  boy." 

Stasch  looked  at  him  in  surprise. 

"And  this  camp?" 

"This  is  a  camp  of  death." 

"And  these  negroes?" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      361 

"These  negroes  are  asleep,  and  they  will 
never  awaken  again." 

"I  don't  understand " 

"They  are  stricken  with  the  sleeping-sick- 
ness/ They  are  from  the  shores  of  the  great 
lakes,  where  this  terrible  sickness  is  always 
very  prevalent,  and  every  one  of  them  who  has 
not  died  of  the  smallpox  has  been  stricken  down 
with  it.     I  have  only  one  boy  left." 

It  just  occurred  to  Stasch  that  when  he  was 
sliding  down  the  slope  not  one  of  those  negroes 
had  moved,  nor  even  budged,  and  that  during 
the  whole  conversation  they  were  still  sleeping, 
some  with  their  heads  propped  up  against  the 
rocks  and  others  with  their  heads  hanging 
down  on  their  chests. 

"They  are  asleep  and  will  never  awaken?" 
he  inquired,  as  if  he  could  scarcely  believe  his 
ears. 

Linde  responded: 

"Oh,  this  Africa  is  a  house  of  death." 

But  the  remaining  words  were  interrupted 
by  the  tramping  of  the  horses,  which,  fright- 
ened by  something  in  the  jungle,  hopped  along, 
their  feet  being  hobbled,  to  the  edge  of  the 
cliff,  so  as  to  be  nearer  the  people  and  the  fire- 
light. 

"That's  nothing;  it  is  only  the  horses,"  said 

'It  has  lately  been  discovered  that  this  same  tsetse-fly  innocu- 
lates  people,  as  well  as  oxen  and  horses,  with  the  fatal  sleeping 
sickness,  though  it  has  been  found  that  their  sting  only  causes 
the  sleeping  sickness  in  some  places.  At  the  time  of  the  revolt 
of  the  Mahdi  the  cause  of  this  illness  was  not  known. 


362      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  Swiss  quietly.  "I  captured  them  from  the 
Mahdists,  whom  I  conquered  a  few  weeks  ago. 
There  were  at  least  thirty  men  of  them.  But  they 
were  armed  for  the  most  part  with  spears,  while 
my  men  had  Remington  rifles,  which  are  now 
standing  against  the  wall  useless.  If  you  need 
weapons  or  shot,  help  yourself.  Take  a  horse, 
too.  On  horseback  you  can  return  more 
quickly  to  your  patient.    How  old  is  she?" 

"Eight  years,"  answered  Stasch. 

"Then  she  is  still  a  child.  Nasibu  will  give 
you  tea,  rice,  coffee,  and  wine  for  her.  Take 
your  choice  of  our  provisions  and  as  much  as 
you  want,  and  come  again  to-morrow  to  get 
some  more." 

"I  will  certainly  come  back,  to  thank  you 
from  the  bottom  of  vay  heart,  and  to  do  all  I 
can  to  help  you." 

Whereupon  Linde  said : 

"It  is  so  pleasant  to  see  a  European  face  at 
least  once  more  before  I  die.  If  you  come 
earlier  than  you  did  to-day  I  shall  be  more 
likely  to  be  myself.  Now  the  fever  is  coming 
on  again,  for  I  see  you  double.  Are  there  two 
people  standing  by  me?  No!  I  know  that 
you  are  alone  and  that  this  is  only  the  fever. 
Oh,  Africa!" 

And  he  closed  his  eyes. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Stasch  left  this 
strange  camp  of  sleep  and  death  and  started  on 
his  return  journey  on  horseback.  It  was  still 
dark  night,  but  he  was  oblivious  of  the  dangers 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      363 

which  lurked  in  the  tall  grass.  He  kept  close 
to  the  stream,  supposing  that  it  led  nearer  the 
end  of  this  narrow  pass.  The  return  journey 
was  a  great  deal  easier,  because  he  could  hear  the 
rushing  of  the  waterfall  in  the  distance.  Besides, 
the  clouds  in  the  western  sky  had  dispersed, 
and  the  constellations  shone  forth  brightly  near 
the  moon.  The  boy  put  spurs,  which  were  on 
the  broad  Arabian  stirrups,  to  the  horse,  and 
galloped  over  sticks  and  stones,  as  he  thought 
to  himself:  "What  harm  can  lions  and  pan- 
thers do  to  me?  I  have  quinine  for  my  little 
girl."  And  from  time  to  time  he  felt  for  the  jars 
of  quinine  to  make  sure  he  really  had  them  and 
that  it  was  not  all  a  dream.  The  most  varied 
thoughts  and  scenes  floated  through  his  brain. 
He  saw  the  wounded  Swiss,  to  whom  he  felt 
inexpressibly  grateful,  and  who  had  now 
aroused  his  sympathy,  for  during  the  first  mo- 
ment or  so  of  his  intercourse  with  him  he  had 
taken  him  for  an  idiot ;  he  saw  the  little  Nasibu, 
with  his  round  head  shaped  like  a  ball,  the  rows 
of  sleeping  men,  the  barrels  of  the  Remington 
guns  propped  up  against  the  rock,  and  lighted 
up  by  the  fire.  Besides,  he  was  also  all  but  cer- 
tain that  the  fight  which  Linde  had  told  him 
about  had  been  with  Smain's  division — and  he 
felt  a  peculiar  sensation  as  he  thought  perhaps 
Smain  also  had  fallen. 

These  dreams  mingled  with  his  ever-present 
thoughts  of  Nell.  He  imagined  how  surprised 
she  would  be  the  next  morning  on  seeing  a 


364      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

whole  jar  full  of  quinine,  and  how  she  would 
think  him  a  prodigy.  "Ah,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"if  I  had  lost  courage  and  had  not  gone  to  find 
out  where  this  smoke  came  from,  I  would  never 
have  forgiven  myself." 

After  a  short  hour  had  elapsed  the  sound  of 
the  waterfall  became  quite  distinct,  and  on 
hearing  the  croaking  of  the  frogs,  he  knew  that 
he  must  be  near  the  silicious  ground  on  which 
he  had  killed  the  water-birds  the  previous  day. 
l^y  the  light  of  the  moon  he  could  even  distin- 
guish the  distant  trees.  Now  he  had  to  be 
especially  on  his  guard,  for  this  swampy  land 
served  as  a  watering-place,  to  which  all  the 
animals  in  the  vicinity  were  obliged  to  resort, 
because  in  other  places  the  banks  of  the  stream 
were  exceedingly  steep. 

It  was  now  far  into  the  night,  and  appar- 
ently the  beasts  of  prey  had  taken  refuge  in 
the  clefts  of  the  rocks  after  their  nocturnal  hunt 
for  prey.  The  horse  neighed  a  little  on  scent- 
ing the  fresh  trail  of  lions  or  panthers,  but 
Stasch  passed  safely  on,  and  soon  saw  on  the 
high  projection  the  large  black  silhouette  of 
"Cracow."  For  the  first  time  since  he  had  been 
in  the  interior  of  Africa  he  felt  as  if  he  had 
reached  home.  He  had  expected  to  find  them 
all  still  asleep,  but  he  never  thought  of  Saba, 
who  now  began  to  bark  loud  enough  to  wake 
the  dead. 

The  next  moment  Kali  stood  in  front  of  the 
tree  and  cried; 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      365 

"Bwana  Kubwa  on  horseback!" 

The  tone  of  his  voice  expressed  more  joy 
than  astonishment,  for  his  faith  in  Stasch's 
powers  was  so  great  that  had  the  latter  created 
a  horse  out  of  nothing,  the  black  boy  would  not 
have  been  very  much  surprised.  But  as  the 
negro  always  shows  his  happiness  by  laughing, 
he  began  to  slap  his  sides  and  laugh  inordi- 
nately. 

"Tie  up  this  horse,"  said  Stasch;  "take  the 
provisions  off  his  back,  make  a  fire,  and  boil 
some  water." 

Then  he  went  inside  the  tree.  Nell  was  also 
awake  and  had  been  calling  for  him.  On  draw- 
ing aside  the  canvas,  Stasch  saw  by  the  light 
of  the  little  lamp  her  pale  face  and  her  little 
thin  hands  lying  on  the  shawl,  which  served  as 
a  covering. 

"Little  one,  how  are  you?"  he  asked  quite 
gayly. 

"Well!  and  I  slept  soundly  until  Saba  woke 
me  up.    But  why  aren't  you  asleep?" 

"Because  I  have  been  away." 

"Where?" 

"To  the  druggist's." 

"To  the  druggist's?" 

"Yes.     To  get  some  quinine." 

We  must  confess  that  the  child  had  not  en- 
joyed the  quinine  powders  which  she  had  pre- 
viously taken,  but  as  she  considered  them  a 
panacea  for  all  the  ills  flesh  is  heir  to,  she  sighed 
and  said: 


366     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"I  know  you  have  no  more  quinine." 

Stasch  lifted  one  of  the  jars  to  the  light  and 
said  with  jDride  and  joy: 

"What  do  you  call  this,  then?" 

Nell  would  not  believe  her  eyes,  so  he 
continued  hastily,  brimming  over  with  pleas- 
ure: 

"Now  you  are  going  to  get  well  again!  I 
will  lose  no  time  in  wrapping  a  good  dose  up 
in  the  skin  of  a  fresh  fig,  and  you  must  swallow 
it,  and  what  you  will  drink  later  remains  to  be 
seen.  Why  do  you  stare  at  me  like  an  idiot? 
Yes,  I  have  a  second  jar,  too.  I  received  both 
of  them  from  a  white  man,  whose  camp  is 
about  four  miles  from  here.  It  is  from  him 
that  I  have  come.  His  name  is  Linde,  and  he 
is  wounded,  but  he  gave  me  many  nice  things 
to  bring  back.  I  returned  on  horseback,  al- 
though I  went  on  foot.  Do  you  think  it  is 
pleasant  to  go  through  the  jungle  by  night? 
Brr!  I  would  not  go  a  second  time  unless  it 
were  a  matter  of  getting  quinine." 

With  these  words  he  left  the  astonished  girl, 
went  to  the  men's  quarters,  and  selecting  the 
smallest  fig  from  the  provisions,  hollowed  it 
out  and  poured  quinine  into  it,  but  he  was  very 
careful  that  the  dose  was  larger  than  the 
powders  he  had  taken  in  Khartum.  Then  he 
left  the  tree,  poured  the  tea  into  a  pot  of  boil- 
ing water,  and  returned  to  Nell  with  the 
medicine. 

All  this  time  Nell  was  very  curious  to  find 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     367 

out  what  kind  of  person  this  white  man  was, 
how  Stasch  had  found  him,  and  if  he  were 
going  to  join  them,  and  whether  they  would  all 
continue  their  journey  together.  Now  that 
Stasch  had  obtained  the  quinine,  she  had  not 
the  least  doubt  but  that  she  would  recover.  And 
so  Stasch  had  gone  through  the  jungle  in  the 
night,  and  without  telling  a  soul.  Notwith- 
standing Nell's  admiration  for  him,  she  had 
until  now  unconsciously  taken  everything  he 
did  for  her  as  a  matter  of  course ;  for  was  it  not 
natural  that  an  older  boy  should  protect  a 
younger  girl?  Now  she  began  to  think  that 
had  it  not  been  for  his  care  and  protection  she 
would  have  given  out  long  before ;  that  he  had 
done  a  great  deal  for  her,  gratified  all  her 
wishes,  and  protected  her  as  no  other  boy  of  his 
age  could  have  done,  or  would  do — and  so  her 
little  heart  was  filled  with  gratitude. 

And  when  Stasch  reappeared  and  bent  over 
her  with  the  medicine,  she  wound  her  little  thin 
arms  around  his  neck  and  hugged  him  tight. 

"Stasch,  you  are  very  good  to  me!" 

And  he  replied : 

"I !  To  whom  else  ought  I  be  good?  That's 
a  great  idea!    Take  this  medicine." 

Nevertheless,  he  was  greatly  pleased,  his  eyes 
shone  with  satisfaction,  and  turning  toward 
the  opening  in  the  tree,  he  cried  out  in  a  voice 
full  of  joy  and  pride: 

"Mea!    Now  bring  Bibi  the  tea!" 


368      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER    XII 

IT  WAS  not  until  toward  noon  the  following 
day  that  Stasch  started  out  to  revisit  Linde, 
because  he  had  to  make  up  for  the  sleep  he  had 
lost  the  night  before. 

Thinking  that  the  sick  man  might  need  some 
fresh  meat,  he  killed  two  birds  on  the  way, 
which  were  much  appreciated.  Linde  was  very 
weak,  but  perfectly  rational.  As  soon  as  they 
had  exchanged  greetings  he  inquired  how  Nell 
was ;  then  he  told  Stasch  that  he  did  not  think 
quinine  alone  would  cure  the  fever,  and  said 
that  he  must  guard  the  little  one  against  the 
sun's  rays,  dampness,  spending  the  night  in 
low,  damp  places,  and  finally  against  bad 
water.  Then,  as  requested,  Stasch  narrated 
his  own  and  Nell's  adventures  from  the  begin- 
ning as  far  as  their  arrival  in  Khartum  and 
their  visit  to  the  Mahdi,  and  from  Fashoda  to 
their  escape  from  Gebhr's  hands,  and  also  their 
later  wanderings.  During  this  story  the  Swiss 
looked  at  him  with  growing  curiosity,  and  often 
even  with  evident  admiration,  and  as  the  tale 
approached  its  end  he  lighted  his  pipe,  looked 
at  Stasch  once  more  from  head  to  foot,  and, 
apparently  lost  in  thought,  said : 

"If  there  are  many  boys  like  you  in  your 
country,  it  will  be  hard  to  conquer  you." 

And  after  a  short  silence  he  continued: 

"The  best  proof  of  the  truth  of  your  words 
is  the  fact  that  you  are  standing  here  before 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      369 

me.  And  what  I  want  to  say  to  you  is  this, 
that  you  are  in  a  terrible  predicament;  the 
route,  no  matter  which  direction  you  take,  is 
beset  with  dangers,  but  who  knows  whether 
such  a  brave  boy  as  you  can  not  safely  lead 
both  himself  and  that  child  out  of  this  great 
wilderness!" 

"If  Nell  would  only  get  well  again  I  will  do 
everything  in  my  power,"  cried  Stasch. 

"But  you  must  take  care  of  yourself,  too,  for 
the  work  that  lies  before  you  would  tax  the 
strength  of  a  full-grown  man.  Have  j^ou  ever 
thought  where  you  are?" 

"No;  I  only  remember  that  after  leaving 
Fashoda  we  passed  a  river — near  a  large  settle- 
ment called  Deng." 

"The  river  Sobat!"  interrupted  Linde. 

"At  Deng  there  were  many  Dervishes  and 
negroes.  But  on  the  other  side  of  the  Sobat 
we  entered  into  a  region  of  jungle,  and 
marched  for  weeks  until  we  arrived  at  the 
gorge,  in  which  you  know  what  took  place " 

"I  know.  You  then  went  on  through  the 
gorge  till  you  came  to  that  stream.  Well,  now 
listen;  it  is  obvious  that  after  passing  over  the 
Sobat  with  the  Sudanese  you  turned  off  to  the 
southeast,  or  a  little  more  toward  the  south. 
The  country  j^ou  now  happen  to  be  in  is  un- 
known to  explorers  and  geographers.  This 
river  near  us  runs  northwest,  and  probably 
empties  into  the  Nile.  I  say  probably,  for  I 
am  not  quite  sure  mj^self,  although  I  turned 


370      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

off  from  the  mountains  of  Karamajo  to  dis- 
cover its  source.  After  the  fight  the  captured 
Dervishes  told  me  that  it  was  called  Ogeloguer, 
but  even  they  were  not  sure,  for  they  only  go 
into  this  district  to  hunt  slaves.  This  land  was 
for  the  most  part  sparsely  inhabited  by  the 
Schilluks;  but  now  the  country  is  devoid  of 
human  beings,  for  some  of  the  people  have  died 
of  smallpox,  others  have  been  killed  by  the 
Dervishes,  and  still  others  have  fled  into  the 
mountains  of  Karamajo.  It  often  happens  in 
Africa  that  a  stretch  of  land  thickly  populated 
to-day  becomes  a  wilderness  to-morrow.  I  cal- 
culate that  you  are  about  300  kilometers  dis- 
tant from  Lado.  In  fact,  you  might  take  ref- 
uge with  Ermin  in  Sudan,  but  as  it  is  quite 
likely  that  Ermin  himself  is  besieged  by  the 
Dervishes,  that  course  is  out  of  the  question." 

"How  about  going  to  Abyssinia?"  asked 
Stasch. 

"It  is  also  nearly  300  kilometers  distant.  Be- 
sides that,  one  must  reckon  that  the  Mahdi  is 
now  at  war  with  the  whole  world,  consequently 
with  Abyssinia.  Besides,  I  have  heard  from  the 
prisoners  that  bands  of  Dervishes  are  wander- 
ing in  the  western  and  southern  districts,  and 
you  might  easily  fall  into  their  hands.  Abys- 
sinia is  certainly  a  Christian  land,  but  the 
savage  races  to  the  south  are  either  heathens 
or  believers  in  Islam,  and  for  that  reason  they 
secretly  sympathize  with  the  Mahdi.  No ;  you 
can  not  go  through  that  country." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     371 

"Then  what  shall  I  do,  and  where  shall  I 
go  with  Nell?"  asked  Stasch. 

"I  told  you  that  you  are  in  a  difficult  posi- 
tion," murmured  Linde;  then  he  covered  his 
head  with  his  hands  and  remained  silent  a  while. 

"From  here  to  the  ocean,"  he  at  last  said, 
"would  be  more  than  900  kilometers,  through 
mountain  regions,  wild  tribes,  and  even  desert 
places,  for  on  the  way  there  are  supposed  to  be 
large  tracts  of  arid  land.  But  nominally  the 
country  belongs  to  England.  One  might  strike 
caravans  of  ivory  on  their  way  to  Kismaya- 
Lam  and  Mombasa,  perhaps  even  meet  mis- 
sionary expeditions.  When  I  saw  that,  owing 
to  the  Dervishes,  I  could  not  escape  the  course 
of  this  river,  as  it  turns  off  toward  the  Nile,  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  go  east  toward  the  ocean." 

"Then  we  will  return  together!"  cried 
Stasch. 

"I  shall  never  return.  The  Ndiri  beast  tore 
my  sinews  and  veins  so  terribly  that  blood 
poisoning  must  certainly  set  in.  Only  a  sur- 
geon could  save  me  b}^  amputating  my  leg. 
Now  it  has  dried  up  and  stiffened,  but  on  the 
first  day  the  pain  was  so  great  that  I  bit  into 
my  hands  and " 

"You  will  certainly  get  well." 

"No,  my  brave  boy,  I  shall  surely  die,  and 
you  must  cover  me  well  with  stones,  so  that 
the  hyenas  can  not  dig  me  up.  This  is  per- 
haps of  little  consequence  to  the  dead,  but 
while  alive  it  is  not  a  pleasant  thought.    It  is 


372      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

hard  to  have  to  die  so  far  away  from  one's 
family." 

At  these  words  his  eyes  became  veiled,  and 
after  a  while  he  continued: 

"But  I  have  become  accustomed  to  the 
thought,  so  let  us  now  talk  about  you,  not  about 
me.  I  will  give  you  one  piece  of  advice :  There 
is  only  one  road  for  you  to  take,  which  is  to 
the  east  toward  the  ocean.  But  before  attempt- 
ing this  journey  you  should  rest  well  and 
gather  strength;  otherwise  your  little  com- 
panion will  die  in  a  few  weeks.  Postpone  the 
journey  until  the  rainy  season  is  over  and  per- 
haps even  longer.  The  first  months  of  sum- 
mer, when  it  has  ceased  raining,  and  the  water 
still  covers  the  swamps,  are  the  most  healthful. 
This  place,  where  we  now  are,  is  an  elevated 
plateau  lying  nearly  seven  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  In  high  regions  of  one 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  there  is  no  fever, 
and  if  by  chance  it  be  carried  there  from  places 
of  lower  altitude,  it  assumes  a  much  milder 
form.  Take  the  little  English  girl  and  go  into 
the  mountains  with  her." 

Talking  evidently  tired  him  very  much,  and 
so  he  paused  once  more,  and  for  a  time  fought 
off  large  blue  flies — the  same  kind  that  Stasch 
had  seen  in  Fashoda. 

Then  he"  resumed : 

"Pay  strict  attention  to  what  I  am  going  to 
tell  you.  One  day's  journey  toward  the  south 
you  will  see  an  isolated  mountain,  not  more 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     373 

than  eight  hundred  feet  high.  It  looks  Hke  an 
overturned  saucepan;  its  sides  are  very  steep. 
The  only  way  to  reach  it  is  by  a  mountain  pass 
so  narrow  that  in  some  places  two  horses  can 
barely  walk  abreast.  On  its  flat  summit,  about 
a  kilometer  broad,  there  used  to  be  a  small 
negro  village,  but  the  Mahdists  have  killed 
some  of  the  inhabitants  and  have  taken  others 
away  with  them.  It  may  be  that  this  was  done 
by  the  very  Smain  I  conquered,  but  whose 
slaves  I  could  not  capture  because  he  had 
already  sent  them  under  heavy  guard  toward 
the  Nile.  Up  there  on  the  top  is  a  spring  of 
excellent  water,  several  fields  of  manioc  and  a 
quantity  of  banana-trees.  You  will  also  find 
there  many  human  bones,  but  you  need  not 
fear  that  these  corpses  will  produce  a  plague, 
for  after  the  Dervishes  left  the  ants  drove  us 
away  from  the  plain.  Other  than  these,  not 
a  human  soul!  Remain  one  or  two  months  in 
that  village.  At  that  height  there  is  no  fever. 
The  nights  are  cool.  There  your  little  one  will 
regain  her  health  and  you  your  strength." 

"And  then  what  shall  I  do,  and  where  shall 
I  go?" 

"Leave  the  rest  to  the  guidance  of  God.  By 
all  means  try  to  go  toward  the  places  in  Abys- 
sinia which  are  furthest  away  from  the  Der- 
vishes, but  go  toward  the  east.  I  have  heard 
that  the  Arabians,  hunting  for  ivory,  which 
they  get  from  the  Samburu  and  Wa-hima 
tribes,  advance  as  far  as  a  certain  lake." 


374      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

Now  Stasch  began  to  tell  Linde  how  he  had 
obtained  Kali  (Gebhr's  servant)  after  Gebhr's 
death,  and  also  that  the  young  negro  had  said 
that  he  was  the  son  of  the  chief  of  the  Wa- 
himas. 

But  Linde  was  much  more  indifferent  to  this 
news  than  Stasch  had  expected. 

"All  the  better,"  he  said,  "for  he  can  be  of 
use  to  you.  Among  the  blacks  there  are  kind 
souls,  although  on  the  whole  one  can  not  de- 
pend on  their  gratitude,  because  they  are  but 
children  still,  and  forget  to-day  what  happened 
yesterday." 

"Kali  will  not  forget  that  I  saved  him  from 
Gebhr — I'm  sure  of  that." 

"Possibly,"  said  Linde,  and  pointing  to 
Nasibu,  he  added : 

"He  is  also  a  good  child.  Take  care  of  him 
after  my  death." 

"Don't  always  think  of  death,  and  don't  talk 
of  it." 

"My  dear,"  answered  the  Swiss,  "I  long  for 
it — all  I  hope  is  that  it  will  take  place  without 
further  suffering.  Just  think,  I  am  now  quite 
helpless,  and  if  one  of  the  Mahdists  whose 
band  I  dispersed  should  accidentally  wander 
through  this  narrow  pass,  he  could  slaughter 
me  like  a  lamb  single-handed." 

He  pointed  to  the  sleeping  negroes,  and  re- 
sumed : 

"These  will  never  wake,  or,  more  correctly, 
each  one  will  wake  once  again  shortly  before 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     375 

his  death,  and  will  run  madly  through  the 
jungle,  from  which  he  will  never  return.  Out 
of  two  hundred  people  there  were  only  sixty 
left  me.  Many  ran  away,  died  of  smallpox, 
or  lay  down  to  die  in  other  gorges." 

Stasch  gazed  at  the  negroes,  his  heart  full  of 
horror  and  pity.  Their  bodies  were  of  an  ashy 
gray,  which  in  the  negro  signifies  pallor.  The 
eyes  of  some  were  tightly  closed,  of  others  half 
open,  but  even  these  were  sleeping  soundly,  for 
the  pupils  of  their  eyes  were  not  sensitive  to 
the  light.  The  knee-joints  of  some  were 
swollen.  All  were  so  terribly  emaciated  that 
their  ribs  could  be  seen  through  their  skin. 
Their  hands  and  feet  shook  incessantly  and 
rapidly.  Blue  flies  had  settled  in  thick  masses 
on  their  eyes  and  lips. 

"Is  there  no  help  for  them?"  asked  Stasch. 

"No.  In  the  district  of  the  Victoria-Nyanza 
this  illness  kills  the  inhabitants  of  entire  vil- 
lages. Sometimes  it  is  worse  than  at  others. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  villages  lying  in  the 
woods  near  its  banks  are  most  frequently  at- 
tacked." 

The  sun  was  already  in  the  west,  but  before 
evening  Linde  had  told  Stasch  of  his  adven- 
tures. He  said  he  was  the  son  of  a  merchant 
in  Zurich,  that  his  family  had  come  from 
Karlsruhe,  and  that  in  the  j^ear  1848  they  had 
settled  in  Switzerland.  His  father  had  made  a 
great  fortune  as  a  silk  merchant.  He  had  his 
son  trained  as  an  engineer,  but  young  Henry 


376     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

from  his  earliest  youth  was  beset  with  the  idea 
of  travehng.  When  he  graduated  from  the 
Polytechnic  School  he  inherited  the  entire  for- 
tune of  his  father,  and  then  started  on  his  first 
journey  to  Egypt.  This  took  place  before  the 
time  of  the  Mahdi,  and  so  he  got  as  far  as 
Khartum,  and  hunted  in  the  Sudan  with  the 
Dongalese.  He  then  devoted  himself  to  study- 
ing the  geography  of  Africa,  in  which  he  so 
excelled  that  he  belonged  to  many  geographical 
societies.  This  last  journey,  which  was  to  ter- 
minate so  badly  for  him,  had  been  undertaken 
from  Zanzibar.  He  had  got  as  far  as  the  great 
lakes  and  intended  to  advance  along  the  unex- 
plored mountains  of  Karamajo  as  far  as  Abys- 
sinia, and  from  there  to  the  borders  of  the  sea. 
But  the  people  of  Zanzibar  would  not  accom- 
pany him  any  further.  Fortunately,  or  unfor- 
tunately, war  was  at  that  time  raging  between 
the  kings  of  Uganda  and  Unyoro.  Linde  ma- 
terially assisted  the  king  of  Uganda,  and  the 
latter  as  a  reward  gave  him  more  than  two 
hundred  black  Agisis.  That  naturally  greatly 
facilitated  the  journey  and  the  visit  to  the 
Karamajo  Mountains,  but  just  then  the 
smallpox  broke  out  among  the  people,  fol- 
lowed by  the  terrible  sleeping-sickness,  and 
at  last  the  caravan  was  demoralized  and  de- 
stroyed. 

Linde  had  with  him  quantities  of  provisions, 
consisting  of  all  kinds  of  canned  goods,  but  as 
he  dreaded  the  scurvy,  he  hunted  daily  for  fresh 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      377 

meat.    He  was  a  splendid  shot,  but  not  a  very 
cautious  hunter. 

And  so  it  happened  that  a  few  days  before, 
when  he  had  foohshly  approached  too  near  a 
wounded  Ndiri  wild  boar,  the  animal  sprang 
up,  tore  his  leg  terribly,  and  wounded  him  in 
the  back.  This  happened  quite  near  this  camp, 
and  in  full  view  of  Nasibu,  who  tore  up  his 
own  shirt  and  made  a  bandage  of  it  to  stop 
the  flow  of  blood,  and  brought  the  wounded 
man  back  to  the  tent.  But  as  the  result  of  in- 
ternal bleeding,  clumps  of  coagulated  blood 
formed,  and  the  patient  was  threatened  with 
gangrene. 

Stasch  insisted  on  bandaging  him,  and  de- 
clared that  either  he  would  come  to  see  him 
every  day,  or — so  as  not  to  leave  Nell  alone 
in  the  care  of  the  two  negroes — put  him  on  a 
felt  rug  stretched  out  between  two  horses  and 
bring  him  to  "Cracow."  Linde  was  willing  to 
let  Stasch  make  a  new  bandage  for  him,  but  he 
would  on  no  account  listen  to  the  thought  of 
being  removed. 

"I  know,"  he  said,  pointing  to  his  negroes, 
"that  these  people  must  die,  but  as  long  as 
death  has  not  yet  come  to  them  I  can  not  con- 
demn them  while  alive  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by 
the  hyenas,  who  are  only  kept  at  a  distance 
during  the  night  by  the  campfire." 

And  he  at  once  began  to  repeat  feverishly: 
"I  can  not,  I  can  not,  I  can  not!" 
However,  he  soon  regained  his  composure, 


378      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  continued  in  a  peculiarly  sad,  ringing 
voice : 

"Come  here  to-morrow  early.  I  have  a  great 
favor  to  ask  of  you,  and  if  j'^ou  grant  it,  God 
will  perhaps  lead  you  both  out  of  this  African 
hell,  and  I  will  die  contented.  I  wanted  to 
postpone  this  request  until  to-morrow,  but  as 
I  may  be  unconscious  to-morrow,  I  will  tell 
you  to-day.  Pour  water  into  a  vessel,  go  up 
to  each  of  these  poor  sleeping  creatures,  sprinkle 
water  on  his  head,  and  sa}^:  'I  baptize  you  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.    Amen.'  " 

This  he  said  with  a  voice  full  of  emotion, 
and  then  became  silent. 

"I  blame  myself,"  he  said  after  a  while,  "that 
I  did  not  take  leave  in  the  same  way  of  those 
who  died  of  the  smallpox  and  of  those  who  died 
even  earlier.  But  now  I  am  threatened  with 
death — and  would  like  to — that  is,  with  the  re- 
mainder of  my  caravan,  go  on  this  last  great 
journey  with  them." 

At  these  words  he  pointed  with  his  hand  to 
the  flaming  sky,  and  two  large  tears  trickled 
slowly  down  his  cheeks. 

Stasch  wept  like  a  child. 

CHAPTER   XIII 

ON  THE  following  day  the  sun  shone  down 
on  a  strange  scene.  Stasch  walked  along- 
side of  the  steep  cliff,  stood  still  in  front  of 
each  negro,  poured  water  over  each  forehead 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      379 

while  making  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  at  the 
same  time  pronounced  the  sacred  words.  And 
they  slept — their  hands  and  feet  shaking,  their 
heads  sunk  on  their  chests  or  held  upright. 
Though  still  alive,  they  resembled  corpses.  In 
this  manner  the  sleepers  were  baptized  in  the 
quiet  of  the  morning,  in  the  light  of  the  sun,  in 
the  silence  of  the  wilderness.  The  sky  was 
cloudless,  highly  arched,  gray-blue — as  if 
shrouded  in  mourning. 

Linde  was  still  rational,  but  became  weaker 
and  weaker.  After  his  bandage  had  been 
changed  he  gave  Stasch  some  papers  locked  up 
in  a  tin  box,  and  begged  him  to  be  especially 
careful  of  them ;  then  he  ceased  to  speak.  He 
could  not  eat,  but  he  was  dreadfully  tortured 
by  thirst,  and  before  sunset  he  became  de- 
lirious. He  called  to  some  children,  forbidding 
them  to  swim  out  so  far  in  the  lake ;  at  last  he 
began  to  have  convulsions,  and  afterward  sat 
holding  his  head  in  his  hands. 

On  the  following  day  he  could  not  recognize 
Stasch,  and  three  days  later,  at  noon,  he  died 
without  regaining  consciousness.  Stasch  truly 
mourned  for  him  a  while,  then  he  and  Kali 
carried  the  body  to  a  near-by  cave,  the  opening 
of  which  they  closed  with  thorns  and  stones. 

Stasch  took  little  Nasibu  with  him  to  "Cra- 
cow," and  ordered  Kali  to  stay  there,  to  look 
after  the  provisions  and  keep  a  large  fire  burn- 
ing near  the  sleepers  at  night.  Stasch  con- 
tinually rode  back  and  forth  between  the  two 


380     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

gorges,  carrying  back  to  "Cracow"  baggage, 
weapons,  and  especially  the  cartridges  for  the 
Remington  rifles,  out  of  which  he  took  the 
powder  he  needed  to  blast  the  rock  that  held 
King  a  prisoner.  Fortunately  Nell's  health 
improved  very  much,  owing  to  her  daily  dose 
of  quinine,  and  the  great  variety  of  food  had 
given  her  more  appetite  and  increased  her 
strength.  Stasch  left  her  very  reluctantly,  and 
as  he  felt  that  something  might  happen  to  her, 
he  forbade  her  leaving  the  interior  of  the  tree 
during  his  absence,  and  closed  the  opening 
with  branches  of  thorny  acacia.  On  account 
of  the  increasing  duties  which  had  fallen  upon 
him,  he  was  often  obliged  to  leave  her  in  the 
care  of  Mea,  Nasibu  and  Saba,  on  whom,  by 
the  way,  he  chiefly  relied.  He  preferred  to 
ride  several  times  a  day  to  Linde's  camp  for 
provisions  rather  than  leave  the  girl  too  long. 
This  of  course  meant  a  great  deal  of  work,  but 
his  iron  nature  was  proof  against  all  fatigue. 
It  took  ten  days  before  the  things  were  prop- 
erly sorted;  those  not  especially  needed  were 
done  up  in  canvas  and  the  necessary  ones  were 
deposited  in  "Cracow."  The  horses  were  also 
brought  there,  as  were  a  large  number  of  Rem- 
ington rifles;  these  burdens  would  now  fall  to 
the  lot  of  King. 

While  this  was  being  done,  some  of  the 
sleepers  sprang  up  in  their  last  paroxysm, 
fled  wildly  into  the  jungle,  and  never  returned. 
But  there  were  others  who  died  on  the  spot,  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     381 

still  others  who  rushed  off  blindly,  dashing 
their  heads  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  in  or  near  the" 
camp.     Kali  had  to  bury  them.     Two  weeks 
later  only  one  remained,  and  he  soon  expired  in 
his  sleep  from  exhaustion. 

At  last  the  time  had  come  to  blast  the  rock 
and  release  King.  He  was  now  so  tame  that  at 
Stasch's  command  he  lifted  him  with  his  trunk 
and  set  him  up  on  his  neck.  He  had  also  be- 
come accustomed  to  carrying  the  burdens  which 
Kali  put  upon  his  back  by  means  of  a  bamboo 
ladder.  Nell  was  afraid  that  one  of  the  pieces 
was  too  heavj^  for  him,  but  the  small  load  he 
had  on  his  back  seemed  no  heavier  for  him  than 
a  fly.  It  was  only  now  that  their  baggage — 
increased  by  the  things  Linde  had  left  them — 
would  be  burdensome  for  him.  At  first  he 
showed  great  restlessness  on  the  approach  of 
Saba,  but  now  he  was  quite  friendly  with  the 
dog,  and  played  with  him  by  throwing  him 
down  on  the  ground  with  his  trunk,  whereupon 
Saba  pretended  to  bite  him.  But  sometimes 
he  unexpectedly  poured  water  over  the  dog, 
which,  of  course,  the  latter  considered  a  very 
poor  joke. 

The  children  were  especially  pleased  that  the 
intelligent  beast  understood  everything  that 
was  required  of  him,  and  that  he  not  only  paid 
the  greatest  attention  to  every  command  or  re- 
quest, but  to  every  sign  given  him.  Elephants 
far  outstrip  all  other  animals  in  this  respect, 
and  King  greatly  surpassed  Saba,  who  only 


382      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

wagged  his  tail  at  every  command  and  threat 
from  Nell,  and  then,  in  the  end,  did  just  what 
he  pleased. 

For  instance,  after  several  weeks  King  ob- 
served that  the  person  to  be  implicitly  obeyed 
was  Stasch,  and  the  person  who  engaged  the 
attention  of  every  one  was  Nell.  And  thus  he 
obeyed  Stasch's  commands  the  most  readily, 
and  loved  Nell  the  dearest.  He  did  not  care 
much  for  Kali  and  ignored  Mea. 

After  Stasch  had  prepared  the  blast,  he 
pushed  it  into  the  deepest  crack,  closed  the 
opening  with  clay,  and  only  left  a  tiny  hole,  out 
of  which  hung  a  fuse  of  twisted  palm  threads 
rubbed  with  ground  powder.  At  last  the  de- 
cisive moment  came.  Stasch  lighted  the 
powdered  thread  himself,  then  ran  for  his  life 
toward  the  tree,  in  which  he  had  previously 
shut  every  one.  Nell  was  afraid  that  King 
might  become  greatly  alarmed,  but  the  boy 
calmed  her  by  saying  that,  in  the  first  place,  he 
had  chosen  a  day  when  there  had  been  a  heavy 
thunderstorm  in  the  morning,  and,  secondly, 
that  wild  elephants  must  have  heard  the  peals 
of  thunder  more  than  once  when  the  elementary 
forces  of  the  heavens  had  been  let  loose  over  the 
jungle.  But  nevertheless  they  sat  there  with 
beating  hearts,  counting  the  seconds.  At  last 
a  terrible  noise  shook  the  air.  The  bamboo- 
tree  trembled  from  top  to  bottom,  and  the  re- 
mains of  the  mold  still  left  in  the  tree  fell  down 
on  their  heads.     The   next   moment    Stasch 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      383 

sprang  out,  and  avoiding  the  bends  in  the 
gorge,  made  a  straight  line  for  the  passage. 

The  results  of  the  explosion  were  extraordi- 
nary. One-half  of  the  chalk  wall  had  broken 
into  tiny  bits,  the  other  into  larger  and  smaller 
blocks  of  stone,  which  the  force  of  the  blast 
had  thrown  and  scattered  quite  a  distance. 

The  elephant  was  free. 

The  happy  boy  at  once  ran  back  up  the  hill, 
where  he  met  Nell  with  Mea  and  Kali.  King 
had  certainly  been  frightened  and  had  drawn 
back  close  to  the  edge  of  the  ravine,  where  he 
stood  with  upturned  trunk,  looking  toward  the 
direction  from  which  such  an  unusual  clap  of 
thunder  had  broken  out.  But  as  soon  as  Nell 
began  to  call  him  he  stopped  moving  his  ears 
from  fright,  and  when  she  ran  down  to  him 
through  the  newly  opened  passage  he  became 
perfectly  calm.  But  the  horses  were  more 
frightened  than  King,  and  two  of  them  had  fled 
into  the  jungle,  so  that  Kali  could  not  find 
them  again  until  toward  sunset.  On  the  same 
day  Nell  led  King  back  "into  the  world."  The 
colossus  followed  her  obediently,  like  a  small 
dog.  Then  he  took  a  bath  in  the  stream,  after 
which  he  thought  of  supper;  so  leaning  his 
head  against  a  large  sycamore-tree,  he  bent  it 
like  a  weak  reed,  and  devoted  all  his  attention 
to  chewing  up  the  fruit  and  leaves. 

In  the  evening  he  returned  punctually  to 
the  tree,  and  sticking  his  great  nose  into  the 
opening  every  minute,  he  searched  so  carefully 


384     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  persistently  for  Nell  that  at  last  Stasch 
was  obliged  to  give  him  a  good  smack  on  hijs 
trmik. 

Kali  was  the  most  pleased  with  the  result  of 
the  day,  for  now  he  was  relieved  from  the  task 
of  collecting  food  for  the  giant,  which  had  not 
been  at  all  an  easy  matter.  While  preparing 
a  fire  to  cook  the  supper  Stasch  and  Nell  heard 
him  singing  a  new  hymn  of  joy: 

"The  great  man  kill  people  and  lions.  Yah! 
Yah!  Great  man  break  up  rock.  Yah!  Ele- 
phant breaks  his  own  trees,  and  Kali  can  idle 
and  eat.    Yah!  Yah!" 

The  "massika"  or  rainy  season  was  nearly 
over.  Of  course  there  were  still  dark  and  rainy 
days,  but  also  some  very  fine  days.  Stasch  now 
decided  to  move  over  to  the  mountain,  which 
Linde  had  told  him  about,  and  this  plan  was 
carried  out  soon  after  King's  release.  Nell's 
health  no  longer  deterred  him,  for  she  was  now 
decidedly  better. 

Selecting  a  fine  morning,  they  broke  up 
camp  and  started  for  the  south.  Now  they 
were  no  longer  afraid  of  being  lost,  for  the  boy 
had  found  among  the  many  other  articles  of 
Linde's  outfit  a  compass  and  an  excellent  tele- 
scope, through  which  far  distant  places  could 
be  plainly  seen.  Besides  Saba,  King,  and  the 
donkey,  five  heavily  laden  horses  were  taken 
along.  King,  in  addition  to  the  baggage  on 
his  back,  carried  Nell,  who  sat  on  his  neck  be- 
tween the  enormous  ears.  She  looked  as  though 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     385 

in  a  large  armchair.  Stasch  left  the  peninsula- 
shaped  promontory  and  the  baobab-tree  with- 
out regret,  for  the  remembrance  of  Nell's  ill- 
ness clung  to  the  place.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  girl  looked  regretfully  at  the  rocks, 
the  tree,  and  the  waterfall,  and  said  that  she 
would  return  again  when  she  was  "grown  up." 

But  still  sadder  was  the  little  Nasibu,  who 
had  really  loved  his  former  master.  Now,  as  he 
rode  on  the  donkey  at  the  end  of  the  caravan, 
he  turned  back  every  minute  to  look  at  the 
place  where  the  body  of  poor  Linde  was  to  rest 
till  the  Day  of  Judgment. 

The  wind  blew  from  the  north,  and  the  day 
was  very  cool.  Consequently  they  did  not  need 
to  rest  from  ten  to  three,  the  hoiu's  of  the  great- 
est heat,  and  therefore  could  go  much  further 
than  caravans  usually  do  in  a  day.  The  jour- 
ney was  not  long,  and  a  few  hours  after  sunset 
Stasch  perceived  the  mountain  which  was  to  be 
their  destination.  In  the  distance  another 
chain  of  hills  stood  out  against  the  sky,  but  the 
former  was  much  nearer  and  stood  out  by  itself 
like  an  island  in  the  middle  of  a  jungle  sea. 
When  they  approached  they  saw  that  its  pre- 
cipitous sides  were  washed  by  an  arm  of  the 
same  river  on  the  borders  of  which  they  had 
previously  lived.  Its  summit  was  shaped  like  a 
round  bowl,  and  seen  from  below,  seemed  to  be 
completely  covered  by  a  thick  forest.  Stasch 
figured  that  as  the  strip  of  land  in  which  their 
baobab-tree  grew  was  700  feet  high,  and  this 


386      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

mountain  800  feet  higher,  they  would  be  living 
at  an  altitude  of  1500  feet,  and  in  a  climate 
which  could  not  be  much  hotter  than  that  of 
Egypt.  The  thought  gave  him  courage  and 
made  him  desire  to  take  possession  of  this  nat- 
ural fortress  as  quickly  as  possible. 

They  soon  found  the  mountain-pass,  which 
was  the  only  means  of  reaching  the  summit, 
and  immediately  began  to  climb  the  mountain. 
An  hour  and  a  half  later  they  had  reached  the 
top.  The  grove  they  thought  they  had  seen 
from  below  proved  to  be  not  only  a  grove,  but 
a  banana-grove.  The  sight  of  this  greatly 
pleased  them  all,  including  King;  but  Stasch 
was  especially  delighted,  for  he  knew  that  in 
all  Africa  there  is  no  food  more  strengthening, 
more  healthful,  and  a  better  preventive  against 
illness  than  flour  made  of  dried  bananas.  And 
here  was  a  year's  supply. 

Hidden  in  the  foliage  of  these  plants  were 
negro  huts,  some  of  which  had  been  burned 
during  the  invasion,  and  some  destroyed  by 
other  means;  however,  a  few  remained  in  fair 
condition.  In  the  middle  stood  the  largest, 
which  formerly  belonged  to  the  chief  of  the 
village.  It  had  been  tastefully  constructed  out 
of  clay,  with  a  broad  roof  forming  a  sort  of 
veranda  around  the  walls.  Here  and  there  in 
front  of  the  huts  lay  single  bones  and  also 
complete  human  skeletons,  white  as  chalk,  for 
they  had  been  thoroughly  cleaned  by  the  ants, 
of  whose  invasion  Linde  had  spoken.     Many 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     387 

weeks  had  passed  since  the  invasion  of  the  little 
insects,  but  in  the  hut  there  was  still  a  strong 
scent  of  formic  acid,  and  in  the  dwellings  not 
a  trace  could  be  found  of  the  large  black  cock- 
roaches— which  usuallj^  infest  the  mud  huts  of 
the  negroes — or  spiders,  or  scorpions,  or  any- 
other  vermin.  Everything  had  been  destroyed 
by  the  terrible  "siafu,"  and  so  one  could  feel 
confident  that  on  the  entire  summit  there  was 
not  a  snake  to  be  found,  for  even  the  boas  fall 
victims  to  these  unconquerable  warriors. 

After  Stasch  had  led  Nell  and  Mea  into  the 
chieftain's  hut,  he  ordered  Kali  and  Nasibu  to 
clear  away  the  human  bones.  The  black  boy 
obeyed  by  simply  throwing  them  into  the 
stream,  and  the  force  of  the  current  carried 
them  along.  But  during  this  work  they  dis- 
covered that  Linde  had  made  a  mistake  in  tell- 
ing them  that  thej^  would  not  find  a  single  liv- 
ing being  on  the  mountain.  The  quiet  which 
reigned  after  the  kidnapping  of  the  inhabitants 
by  the  Dervishes,  and  the  tempting  look  of  the 
bananas,  had  enticed  a  great  many  chimpan- 
zees, which  had  arranged  something  resembling 
umbrellas,  or  small  roofs,  to  protect  them  from 
the  rain.  Stasch  did  not  want  to  kill  them,  so 
he  decided  to  frighten  them  away  by  shooting 
into  the  air.  This  caused  a  general  confusion, 
which  increased  when  Saba's  angry  bark  was 
heard,  and  King,  excited  by  the  noise,  began 
to  trumpet  vociferously.  But  the  monkeys  did 
not  have  to  seek  far  to  find  a  means  of  retreat, 


388      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

for  they  galloped  to  the  edges  of  the  cliff  and 
let  themselves  down  so  quickly  and  with  such 
agility  by  means  of  the  trees  growing  alongside 
of  the  banks  that  King  was  unable  to  capture 
a  single  one  with  his  trunk  and  tusks. 

The  sun  had  gone  down,  and  Kali  and 
Nasibu  lighted  a  fire  to  cook  the  evening  meal. 
After  Stasch  had  unpacked  the  necessary 
things  for  the  night,  he  wended  his  way  to  the 
chief's  hut,  of  which  Nell  had  already  taken 
possession.  In  the  hut  it  was  hght  and  cosy, 
for  Nell  did  not  light  the  small  lamp  that  had 
served  to  illuminate  the  interior  of  the  baobab- 
tree,  but  a  large  traveling  lamp  which  they  had 
found  among  Linde's  things.  As  the  day  had 
been  so  cool,  Nell  did  not  feel  particularly 
tired  after  the  journey.  She  was  in  a  cheerful 
frame  of  mind,  which  increased  when  Stasch 
told  her  that  the  bones,  which  had  frightened 
her,  had  been  cleared  away. 

"How  good  it  is  to  be  here,"  she  said.  "Look, 
even  the  ground  is  covered  with  asphalt.  Here 
we  shall  live  luxuriously." 

"I  shall  wait  till  to-morrow  before  taking  a 
good  look  at  the  whole  settlement,"  answered 
he;  "but  from  what  I  have  already  seen  to- 
day I  conclude  that  it  would  be  a  good  place  to 
live  in  all  one's  life." 

"If  our  papas  were  here,  yes,  it  would  then 
be  all  right.  But  what  shall  we  name  this 
settlement?" 

"In   geographies    this   mountain    is    called 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     389 

Linde  Mountain,  and  this  village  is  named 
'Nell,'  after  you." 

"So,  then,  I  shall  also  be  represented  in 
geography,"  said  she  joyfully. 

"Certainly;  it  will  perpetuate  your  name," 
answered  Stasch  with  great  earnestness. 


CHAPTER    XIV 

ON  THE  following  day  it  rained  a  little,  but 
as  there  were  also  some  hours  between 
showers,  Stasch  began  as  soon  as  possible  to 
explore  his  surroundings,  and  by  noon  he  had 
penetrated  every  corner.  The  inspection 
proved  very  satisfactory.  In  the  first  place, 
Linde  Mountain  was  the  most  secure  place  in 
the  whole  of  Africa.  Monkeys  alone  could 
scale  its  heights.  Neither  lions  nor  panthers 
could  climb  the  plateau.  As  to  guarding  the 
mountain  pass,  they  had  only  to  install  King 
at  the  entrance  and  then  lie  down  and  go  to 
sleep  peacefully.  Stasch  was  convinced  that 
he  could  now  resist  attacks  of  small  troups  of 
Dervishes,  for  the  road  leading  to  the  moun- 
tain was  very  narrow,  and  one  man  alone,  pro- 
vided he  had  a  good  gun,  could  block  the  en- 
trance so  effectually  that  not  a  soul  would  be 
able  to  pass. 

In  the  center  of  the  "island"  there  bubbled 
forth  a  spring  of  cool,  crystal-clear  water,  the 
outlet  of  which  was  a  small  brook  that  wound 
its  way  through  the  banana-grove  and  at  last 


390     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

plunged  over  the  edge  of  an  overhanging  cHff 
into  the  river,  thus  forming  a  narrow  waterfall, 
which  glistened  like  a  white  ribbon.  On  the 
south  side  of  the  peninsula  there  were  fields 
covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  manioc 
roots,  which  are  much  relished  by  the  negroes. 
Behind  these  fields  grew  very  Iiigh  cocoanut 
palms,  their  crowns  shaped  like  beautiful 
feather-dusters. 

A  mass  of  jungle  surrounded  the  "island," 
and  the  view  was  very  extensive.  On  the  east 
could  be  seen  the  blue  chain  of  the  Karamajo 
Mountains.  On  the  south  rose  high  hills, 
which,  judging  from  their  dark  color,  must 
have  been  covered  with  trees.  On  the  west, 
however,  the  view  extended  to  the  horizon, 
where  the  jungle  melted  into  the  sky.  But 
looking  through  Linde's  telescope  Stasch  per- 
ceived various  narrow  passes,  and  here  and 
there  enormous  trees,  rising  above  the  grasses 
like  churches.  In  some  places,  where  the  grass 
had  not  as  yet  grown  very  high,  one  could  see 
with  the  naked  eye  herds  of  antelopes  and 
zebras,  elephants  and  buffaloes.  Here  and 
there  giraffes  made  paths  through  the  gray- 
blue  jungle  like  ships  furrowing  through  the 
sea.  Close  to  the  edge  of  the  river  some  water- 
bucks  were  playing,  while  others  raised  their 
horned  heads  above  the  deep  water.  In  places 
where  the  surface  of  the  water  was  calmer, 
every  now  and  then  fish,  the  same  kind  Kali 
had  caught,  would  spring  up,  glitter  Uke  silver 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     391 

stars  and  then  sink  back  into  the  water.  Stasch 
resolved  that,  as  soon  as  the  weather  was  better, 
he  would  take  Nell  around  and  show  her  the 
menagerie.  There  were  no  large  animals  on 
the  island,  but  immense  numbers  of  butterflies 
and  birds.  Large,  snow-white  parrots  with 
black  beaks  and  yellow  breasts  flew  above  the 
shrubbery,  tiny  whidah-birds,  with  beautiful 
plumage,  glittering  like  jewels,  swung  from  the 
thin  stalks  of  manioc,  and  from  the  high 
branches  of  the  cocoanut-tree  could  be  heard 
the  sound  of  the  African  cuckoo  and  the  sad, 
soft  cooing  of  the  turtle-dove. 

Stasch  returned  from  his  inspection  feeling 
very  happy. 

"The  air  here  is  good,"  he  said  to  himself; 
"this  place  is  proof  against  attack,  there  is 
plenty  of  food  to  be  had,  and  in  fact  it  is  a 
perfect  Paradise." 

But  as  he  entered  Nell's  hut  he  saw  that  a 
larger  animal  had  put  in  an  appearance  on  the 
island — indeed,  there  were  two — for  during  his 
absence  Nasibu  had  found  in  the  banana 
thicket  a  goat  with  her  young  one,  which  the 
Dervishes  had  been  obliged  to  leave  behind. 
The  goat  was  indeed  somewhat  wild,  but  the 
young  one  immediately  made  friends  with 
Nasibu,  who  was  very  proud  that  he  had  found 
her,  for  he  thought  that  now  "Bibi"  would  be 
able  to  have  excellent  milk  every  day. 

"Stasch,  what  shall  we  do  now?"  asked  Nell 


392      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

one  day,  after  they  had  settled  down  and  grown 
accustomed  to  the  island. 

"There  is  plenty  to  do,"  answered  the  boy, 
and  he  counted  on  his  outstretched  fingers  all 
the  tasks  awaiting  them. 

"To  begin:  Kali  and  Mea  are  heathens,  and 
INasibu,  a  child  from  Zanzibar,  is  a  Mohamme- 
dan, and  so  everything  must  be  explained  to 
them ;  they  must  be  taught  the  true  Faith  and 
baptized.  In  the  second  place,  meat  for  the 
coming  journey  must  be  smoked,  so  I  must 
shoot  it;  in  the  third  place,  as  I  have  so  many 
weapons  and  so  much  ammunition,  I  am  going 
to  teach  Kali  how  to  shoot,  so  that  two  of  us 
will  be  armed  and  ready  to  act  on  the  de- 
fensive ;  and,  in  the  fourth  place,  have  you  for- 
gotten about  the  flying  kites?" 

"The  flying  kites?" 

"Yes,  that  you  are  going  to  glue  together, 
or,  better  still,  sew  together.  That  will  be  your 
work." 

"I  want  to  do  something  besides  play." 

"That  will  by  no  means  be  play,  but  a  very 
important  work,  perhaps  the  most  important 
of  all.  Do  not  imagine  that  one  kite  will 
amount  to  anything;  you  must  make  fifty  or 
more." 

"Why  so  many?"  asked  the  girl,  grown 
curious. 

Then  Stasch  began  to  tell  her  his  plans  and 
hopes.  He  wanted  to  write  on  each  kite  their 
names,  how  they  had  escaped  from  the  Der- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      393 

vishes,  where  they  were  to  be  found,  and  where 
they  expected  to  go.  He  was  also  going  to 
write  on  them  that  they  needed  help,  and  to 
beg  some  one  to  send  a  telegram  to  Port  Said. 
He  intended  to  send  up  these  kites  only  when 
the  wind  was  southwest. 

"Many  of  them,"  he  said,  "will  soon  fall  to 
the  ground,  but  if  only  one  of  them  reaches  the 
coast  and  falls  into  the  hands  of  Europeans  we 
are  saved." 

Nell  was  quite  delighted  with  this  idea,  and 
declared  that  even  King  was  not  a  match  for 
Stasch  when  it  came  to  cleverness.  Yes,  she 
was  convinced  that  a  great  many  of  the  kites 
would  even  fly  to  their  papas,  and  promised  to 
glue  such  kites  from  morning  till  night.  Her 
joy  was  so  excessive  that  Stasch  was  afraid  it 
might  bring  on  the  fever  again,  and  he  was 
therefore  obliged  to  calm  her  enthusiasm. 

The  work  which  Stasch  had  mentioned  was 
immediately  begun  in  earnest.  Kali,  who  had 
been  told  to  catch  as  many  of  the  flying-fish  as 
possible,  stopped  fishing,  but  on  the  other  hand 
he  erected  a  high  fence  of  thin  bamboo  rods, 
or,  to  be  more  accurate,  a  kind  of  trellis,  and 
this  weir  he  fastened  across  the  river.  In  the 
middle  of  the  trellis  was  a  large  opening, 
through  which  the  fish  would  be  obliged  to 
swim  in  order  to  reach  the  open  water.  At  this 
opening  Kali  placed  a  strong  net  made  from 
palm-threads,  and  so  caught  a  plentiful  supply 
of  fish  every  day. 


394     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

He  drove  the  fish  into  the  murderous  net 
with  the  help  of  King,  who,  being  led  into  the 
water,  darkened  and  disturbed  it  so  that  not 
only  those  shimmering  silver  fish,  but  all  other 
creatures  living  in  the  water,  tried  to  escape  into 
the  clearer  depths.  At  this  point  the  weir  was 
often  damaged  by  crocodiles  overturning  the 
trellis  in  their  efforts  to  escape,  and  King  him- 
self would  often  overturn  it,  for  he  cherished 
an  inborn  hatred  against  crocodiles.  So  he 
followed  them,  and  as  soon  as  they  reached 
shallow  water  he  would  pick  them  up  with  his 
trunk  and  throw  them  on  the  bank,  and  he 
took  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  dehght  in 
stamping  them  to  death. 

Turtles  also  were  often  caught  in  the  net, 
and  of  them  the  little  wanderers  made  a  de- 
licious soup.  Kali  prepared  the  fish  by  dry- 
ing them  in  the  sun,  but  the  air-bladders  he 
brought  to  Nell,  who  cut  them  in  two,  stretched 
them  out  on  boards,  and  thus  converted  them 
into  two  sheets  of  paper  the  size  of  one's  hand. 

Stasch  and  Mea  helped  Nell  in  this  work, 
for  it  was  by  no  means  easy.  The  skins  were 
thicker  than  the  bladders  of  our  river  fish,  but 
after  being  dried  they  became  quite  brittle  and 
were  easily  broken.  Stasch  at  last  discovered 
that  they  should  be  dried  in  the  shade.  But 
sometimes  his  patience  was  nearly  exhausted, 
and  that  he  did  not  give  up  the  plan  of  making 
kites  out  of  the  bladders  was  due  to  the  fact 
that  he  considered  them  lighter  and  better  able 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     395 

to  withstand  the  rain  than  paper.  Though  the 
dry  season  had  now  begun,  he  was  not  quite 
sure  whether,  during  the  summer,  especially  in 
the  mountains,  there  would  not  be  showers. 

But  he  also  glued  together  kites  made  out 
of  paper,  a  quantity  of  which  had  been  found 
among  Linde's  effects.  The  first  light,  large 
paper  kite,  which  he  let  loose  in  a  west  wind, 
at  once  rose  very  high,  and  when  Stasch  cut  the 
string  was  carried  by  a  strong  current  of  air 
toward  the  chain  of  the  Karamajo  Mountains. 
Stasch  followed  its  flight  with  the  aid  of  a  tele- 
scope until  it  got  as  small  as  a  butterfly — yes, 
even  until  it  looked  like  a  fly — and  at  last  dis- 
appeared in  the  pale  azure  of  the  sky.  On  the 
following  day  he  loosed  a  second  one,  this  time 
made  of  fish  bladders,  which  ascended  even 
more  quickly  into  the  air,  but  probably  was 
soon  lost  to  view  because  of  the  transparency 
of  the  skins. 

It  was  Nell  who  worked  most  perseveringly, 
and  her  little  fingers  soon  became  so  skilful  that 
she  excelled  Stasch  and  Mea.  She  was  quite 
strong  now.  The  healthy  climate  of  Linde 
Mountain  had  completely  restored  her.  The 
time  for  the  third  attack  of  the  deadly  fever  to 
make  its  appearance  had  passed.  On  that  day 
Stasch  hid  himself  in  the  banana  thicket  and 
cried  for  joy.  After  a  stay  of  two  weeks  in 
the  mountains  he  noticed  that  the  "Good 
Msimu"  now  looked  quite  difl'erently  than 
when  in   the  jungle.     Her  cheeks   had   be- 


396      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

come  fuller,  the  former  yellow  and  transparent 
complexion  had  disappeared,  she  looked  rosy 
once  more,  and  from  beneath  her  luxuriant 
mass  of  hair  her  eyes  looked  out  on  everything 
shining  with  happiness.  From  the  bottom  of 
his  heart  the  boy  was  thankful  for  the  cool 
nights,  the  transparent  spring  water,  the  flour 
from  the  dried  bananas,  and  above  all,  Linde. 

He  had  become  thin  and  sunburned,  which 
was  a  proof  that  he  would  not  have  the  fever, 
for  fever  patients  do  not  become  tanned  by  the 
sun.  He  had  grown  taller  and  more  manly. 
His  quick  movements  and  the  labors  he  had 
performed  had  increased  his  ability  and 
strength.  The  muscles  of  his  arms  and  hands, 
legs  and  feet  were  hard  as  steel.  Now,  in  fact, 
he  had  actually  become  a  seasoned  African 
traveler.  As  he  hunted  daily  and  used  bullets 
only,  he  had  become  a  sure  shot.  He  no  longer 
feared  wild  animals,  for  he  knew  that  the  wild 
and  horned  hunters  were  in  more  danger  from 
him  than  he  was  from  them.  At  one  shot  he 
had  killed  a  large  rhinoceros  which  unexpect- 
edly attacked  him.  He  never  paid  the  least 
attention  to  the  numerous  African  buffaloes, 
which  sometimes  disperse  whole  caravans. 

Besides  the  gluing  of  the  kites  and  the  other 
daily  tasks,  Stasch  and  Nell  also  set  to  work  to 
convert  Kali,  Mea,  and  Nasibu,  and  they  found 
this  more  diflicult  than  they  had  expected.  The 
black  trefoil  took  great  pleasure  in  being 
taught,  but  looked  at  the  lessons  from  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      397 

negro's  point  of  view.  When  Stasch  told  them 
of  the  creation  of  the  world,  of  Paradise,  and 
the  serpent,  everything  went  well,  but  when  he 
got  as  far  as  the  murder  of  Abel  by  Cain,  Kali 
unconsciously  patted  his  stomach  and  asked 
with  great  calmness: 

"And  did  he  eat  him  up  then?" 

The  black  boy  had  always  insisted  that  the 
Wa-himas  never  eat  human  beings,  but  ap- 
parently the  remembrance  of  the  days  when 
they  did  so  still  remained  with  him  as  a  national 
tradition. 

Neither  could  he  understand  why  the  Lord 
God  had  not  killed  the  "wicked  Msimu,"  and 
many  similar  things.  His  ideas  of  good  and 
evil  were  also  quite  African,  which  led  to  the 
following  conversation  between  teacher  and 
pupil : 

"Tell  me,"  asked  Stasch,  "what  is  an  evil 
deed?" 

"If  any  one  takes  cows  away  from  Kali,"  he 
answered,  after  some  consideration,  "that  is  an 
evil  deed." 

"Excellent !"  cried  Stasch ;  "and  now  give  me 
a  good  one." 

This  time  he  answered  at  once: 

"A  good  one — for  instance — if  Kali  takes 
cows  away  from  any  one." 

Stasch  was  too  young  to  know  that  similar 
ideas  of  good  and  evil  are  prevalent  also  in 
Europe,  and  are  practised  by  politicians  and 
even  approved  by  entire  nations. 


398      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

But  gradually  light  began  to  dawn  in  the 
black  brains,  and  what  brains  could  not  under- 
stand, warm  hearts  received.  They  were 
shortly  ready  for  Baptism,  which  was  per- 
formed with  great  ceremony.  The  god-parents 
presented  each  of  the  children  with  four  doti 
(equal  to  about  sixteen  yards)  of  white  per- 
cale and  a  string  of  blue  glass  beads.  They  felt 
somewhat  disappointed,  however,  for  they  were 
so  childlike  that  they  thought  their  skins  would 
turn  white  immediately  after  Baptism,  and 
they  were  greatly  surprised  when  they  saw  that 
they  were  just  as  black  as  before.  But  Nell 
calmed  them  by  convincing  them  that  they  now 
had  white  souls. 

CHAPTER    XV 

STASCH  also  taught  Kali  how  to  use  the  Rem- 
ington rifle,  and  this  he  learned  much  more 
easily  than  the  catechism.  After  ten  days' 
practice  shooting  at  a  target  and  at  crocodiles 
sleeping  in  the  sand  on  the  river  banks,  the 
young  negro  killed  a  large  Pofir-antelope,^  then 
several  gazels,  and  finally  a  Ndiri  wild  boar. 
This  hunt  came  near  ending  in  an  accident 
similar  to  that  which  had  befallen  Linde,  for  the 
boar,^  which  Kali  had  carelessly  approached 
after  firing  the  shot,  sprang  and  flew  at  him 

'  Bosclapha  Canna. 

*  The  wild  boars  of  Africa  have  a  broad  head,  round,  not  three- 
cornered,  tusks,  and  a  fairly  long  tail  which  they  elevate  when 
attacked. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      399 

with  tail  in  the  air.  Kali  dropped  the  gun,  took 
refuge  up  a  tree,  and  sat  there  until  his  screams 
attracted  the  attention  of  Stasch,  who  found 
that  the  wild  boar  had  been  slain. 

Stasch  did  not  as  yet  permit  the  boy  to  hunt 
for  buffaloes,  lions,  and  rhinoceroses.  Stasch 
would  not  shoot  the  elephants  which  came  to 
the  watering-place  by  night,  for  he  had 
promised  Nell  that  he  would  never  kill  one  of 
them. 

But  from  the  mountain-top  he  would  look 
through  the  telescope  morning  and  afternoon, 
and  on  seeing  a  herd  of  zebras,  buffaloes,  ga- 
zels,  or  deer  grazing  in  the  jungle,  he  would 
follow  them,  taking  Kali  with  him.  During 
these  excursions  he  often  questioned  Kali  about 
the  Wa-hima  and  Samburu  tribes  that  they 
were  bound  to  meet  if  they  wanted  to  go  east  as 
far  as  the  seacoast. 

"Kali,  do  you  know,"  he  once  said,  "that  a 
journey  of  twenty  days,  or  if  on  horseback  a 
journey  of  only  ten  days,  would  enable  us  to 
reach  your  country?" 

"Kali  not  know  where  Wa-himas  live,"  an- 
swered the  young  negro,  shaking  his  head 
sadly. 

"But  I  know,"  said  Stasch;  "they  live  where 
the  sun  rises  over  a  large  stretch  of  water." 

"Yes!  yes!"  cried  the  boy  joyfully  and 
greatly  surprised.  "Basso-Narok!  (Dark 
Water. )  That  is  our  name  for  big  black  water. 
Great  man  knows  everything!" 


400      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"No;  I  don't  know  how  the  Wa-himas  would 
welcome  us  should  we  go  there." 

"Kali  order  them  to  fall  on  their  faces  before 
great  man  and  good  Msimu." 

"And  would  they  obey  you?" 

"Kali's  father  wear  leopard  skin  and  Kali, 
too." 

Stasch  understood  that  this  meant  that 
Kali's  father  was  a  king  and  that  he  was  the 
eldest  son  and  the  future  ruler  of  the  Wa- 
himas.    And  so  he  inquired  further: 

"You  told  me  once  that  white  travelers  had 
visited  you  and  that  the  older  people  remember 
them?" 

"Yes;  and  Kali  has  heard  that  they  wore  a 
great  deal  of  percale  on  their  heads." 

"Ah,"  thought  Stasch  to  himself,  "so  they 
were  not  Europeans,  but  Arabs,  whom  the 
negroes,  judging  from  the  light  color  of  their 
skins  and  their  white  clothes,  mistook  for  white 
people." 

But  as  Kali  remembered  nothing  about 
them  and  could  give  no  further  description 
of  them,  Stasch  put  another  question  to 
him. 

"Did  not  the  Wa-himas  kill  any  of  these 
people  dressed  in  white?" 

"No;  neither  the  Wa-himas  nor  the  Sam- 
burus  can  do  that." 

"Why  not?" 

"Because  they  said  that  if  the  earth  sucked 
up  their  blood  the  rain  would  cease." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      401 

"I  am  glad  they  think  that,"  thought  Stasch. 
Then  he  asked: 

"Would  the  Wa-himas  go  with  us  as  far  as 
the  sea,  if  I  were  to  promise  them  quantities  of 
percale,  glass  beads,  and  weapons?" 

"Kali  go  and  also  the  Wa-himas,  but  great 
man  must  first  conquer  the  Samburus,  who  are 
on  the  other  side  of  the  water." 

"And  who  lives  back  of  the  Samburus?" 

"Back  of  the  Samburus  there  are  no  moun- 
tains, only  a  jungle,  and  in  it  live  lions." 

This  ended  the  conversation.  Stasch  now 
constantly  thought  of  the  great  journey  to  the 
east,  remembering  what  Linde  had  said  about 
the  possibility  of  meeting  Arabs  from  the  coast, 
who  trade  in  ivory,  and  perhaps  mission  expe- 
ditions. He  was  sure  that  a  journey  like  this 
would  be  very  fatiguing  and  dangerous  for 
Nell,  but  he  knew  she  could  not  stay  all  her  life 
on  Linde  Mountain,  and  that  they  would  soon 
have  to  move  on.  The  best  time  to  leave  is 
after  the  rainy  season,  when  the  infectious 
swamps  are  covered  with  water  and  the  ground 
is  still  damp.  On  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
they  had  not  as  yet  felt  the  heat;  the  nights 
were  so  cool  that  they  had  to  cover  themselves 
up  to  sleep.  But  below,  in  the  jungle,  it  was 
now  much  warmer,  and  he  well  knew  that  it 
would  soon  become  unbearably  hot  there.  It 
now  rained  less  and  less  and  the  water-line  of 
the  river  became  lower  every  day;  so  Stasch 
conjectured  that  the  river  valley  would  be  con- 


402     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

verted  into  a  dry  bed  in  summer,  the  like  of 
which  he  had  formerly  seen  in  the  desert  of 
Libya,  and  that  then  there  would  only  remain 
a  narrow  stream  flowing  in  the  middle  of  its 
bed. 

But  he  deferred  the  departure  from  day  to 
day.  On  Linde  Mountain  they  all — men  as 
well  as  animals — felt  so  much  at  home!  Nell 
was  not  only  cured  of  the  fever,  but  also  of  her 
anemic  condition.  Stasch  had  no  more  head- 
aches and  Kali's  and  Mea's  skin  began  to  shine 
like  black  satin.  Nasibu  looked  like  a  walking 
melon  on  thin  legs,  and  King,  as  well  as  the 
horses  and  the  donkey,  had  become  quite  fat. 
Stasch  knew  very  well  that  they  would  not  find 
another  island  like  this  in  the  midst  of  the 
jungle  during  their  entire  journey.  He  looked 
into  the  future  with  much  foreboding,  although 
they  now  had  considerable  assistance,  and,  if 
need  be,  an  important  defender  in  King. 

And  so  another  week  passed  before  they  be- 
gan making  preparations  for  the  journey. 
Whenever  they  were  not  busy  packing  they 
devoted  the  time  to  sending  up  kites  containing 
the  information  that  they  were  going  in  an 
easterly  direction  toward  a  certain  lake.  They 
sent  them  up  continually,  because  a  strong  west 
wind  was  blowing  almost  a  hurricane,  which 
carried  them  off  over  the  mountains.  To  pro- 
tect Nell  from  the  heat  Stasch  made  a  palan- 
quin out  of  the  remains  of  the  tent;  this  was 
to  be  placed  on  the  elephant's  back,  for  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     403 

girl  to  ride  in.  After  it  had  been  put  on  King 
a  few  times  he  became  accustomed  to  the  light 
weight,  and  also  to  having  the  palanquin  bound 
to  his  back  with  palm  thongs.  But  this  was  a 
featherweight  in  comparison  to  the  other  bag- 
gage he  was  expected  to  carry,  which  Kali  and 
Mea  were  now  busy  sorting  and  packing. 

Little  Nasibu  was  told  to  look  for  bananas 
and  to  rub  them  to  flour  between  two  flat 
stones.  King  assisted  him  in  picking  the  heavy 
clusters  of  fruit,  but  they  both  ate  so  much  that 
the  bananas  in  the  vicinity  of  the  huts  were 
soon  gone,  and  they  were  obliged  to  go  to  an- 
other grove,  situated  at  the  opposite  end  of 
the  plateau.  Saba,  who  had  nothing  to  do, 
often  kept  them  company  on  these  expeditions. 

But  Nasibu  came  near  paying  for  his  zeal 
with  his  life,  or  at  least  a  very  strange  kind  of 
imprisonment.  For  it  happened  that  once 
when  he  was  gathering  bananas  on  the  edge  of 
a  steep,  overhanging  cliff  he  suddenly  saw  in 
a  crevice  a  horrible  face,  covered  with  black 
skin,  with  eyes  that  blinked  at  him  as  it  laugh- 
ingly showed  its  front  teeth.  At  first  the  boy 
was  nearly  petrified  with  fear — then  he  began 
to  run  for  his  life.  But  before  he  had  gone 
far  a  hairy  arm  encircled  him ;  he  was  lifted  into 
the  air,  and  the  night-black  monster  started  off 
running  with  him  toward  a  gorge. 

Fortunately  the  enormous  monkey  could 
only  run  on  two  feet;  consequently  Saba,  who 
happened  to  be  near,  easily  overtook  it  and 


404     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

buried  his  enormous  jaws  in  his  back.  A  ter- 
rible fight  ensued,  in  which  the  dog,  notwith- 
standing his  great  size  and  strength,  would 
certainly  have  been  worsted  had  not  succor 
arrived  in  time  to  save  him;  for  a  gorilla  can 
even  conquer  lions,  and  monkeys  seldom  let  go 
their  prey,  even  when  it  is  a  matter  of  regaining 
their  freedom  or  their  lives/  The  gorilla,  hav- 
ing been  attacked  from  behind,  could  not  easily 
get  at  Saba,  but  in  spite  of  that  he  picked  him 
up  by  the  neck  with  his  left  hand  and  was  lift- 
ing him  in  the  air  when  the  ground  shook  under 
a  heavy  tread,  and  King  came  running  up. 

A  slight  blow  with  his  trunk  was  sufficient, 
and  the  terrible  "forest  devil,"  as  the  negroes 
call  the  gorilla,  sank  to  the  ground  with  brains 
and  neck  crushed.  But  to  make  sure  that  the 
monster  was  dead,  or  from  his  natural  an- 
tipathy to  it,  King  nailed  it  to  the  ground  with 
his  tusks  and  then  continued  to  wreak  his  ven- 
geance on  it  until  Stasch,  who  had  become 
alarmed  at  the  roaring  and  screaming,  came 
running  up  from  the  direction  of  the  huts,  gun 
in  hand,  and  ordered  him  to  stop. 

The  gorilla  lay  in  a  pool  of  blood,  which 
Saba  began  to  lick  up,  and  King's  tusks  were 
stained  with  gore.  It  was  a  very  large  gorilla, 
and,  though  dead,  its  upturned  eyes  and  its 

'  It  is  true  that  gorillas  live  mostly  in  the  forests  of  western 
Africa,  but  Livingstone  also  met  them  in  the  east.  They  often 
carry  oflf  children.  The  gorilla  of  East  Africa  is  less  vicious  than 
that  of  the  west,  for  it  does  not  kill  the  wounded  huntsman,  but 
is  satisfied  with  biting  off  his  fingers. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     405 

teeth  made  it  still  a  horrible  looking  object. 
The  elephant  trumpeted  triumphantly,  and 
Nasibu,  ash-gray  with  terror,  told  Stasch  what 
had  happened.  For  a  moment  he  considered 
whether  he  should  fetch  Nell  and  show  her  the 
horrible  monkey,  but  he  dismissed  the  thought, 
for  suddenly  a  great  fear  took  possession  of 
him.  Nell  often  went  out  walking  alone  on  the 
island,  and  might  not  the  very  same  thing  hap- 
pen to  her? 

This  proved  that  Linde  Mountain  was  not 
such  a  safe  refuge  as  it  at  first  seemed.  Stasch 
returned  to  the  hut  and  told  Nell  what  had  hap- 
pened ;  she  listened  in  curiosity  and  fright,  her 
eyes  wide  open,  continually  repeating : 

"You  see  what  would  have  happened  with- 
out King?" 

"That's  right!  One  need  not  worry  about 
a  child  with  a  nurse  like  him;  so  while  we  are 
here  don't  take  a  step  away  without  him." 

"And  when  are  we  going  to  leave?" 

"The  provisions  are  ready,  the  baggage 
sorted,  and  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  pack  the 
loads  on  the  animals;  and  so  we  can  start  to- 
morrow." 

"To  see  our  papas?" 

"If  it  be  God's  will!"  answered  Stasch 
gravely. 


406     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER   XVI 

THEY  did  not  break  up  camp  until  several 
days  later.  They  departed  at  dawn — six 
o'clock — after  a  short  prayer,  in  which  they 
earnestly  commended  themselves  to  God.  At 
their  head  rode  Stasch  on  horseback,  preceded 
by  Saba.  Behind  him  solemnly  marched  King, 
flapping  his  ears  and  carrying  on  his  enormous 
back  the  palanquin  in  which  Nell  and  Mea  were 
seated;  then,  under  Kali's  guidance,  followed 
the  horses,  tied  together  with  a  long  rope,  and 
laden  with  all  sorts  of  baggage;  and  little 
Nasibu,  on  the  donkey — which  was  as  fat  as 
the  boy — brought  up  the  rear. 

At  that  early  hour  the  heat  did  not  incon- 
venience them  very  much,  although  the  day  was 
fine,  and  from  behind  the  Karamajo  Moun- 
tains the  sun  rose  in  great  splendor  from  a 
cloudless  sky.  An  eastern  breeze  mitigated  the 
heat  of  its  rays.  Occasionally  the  wind  blew 
a  gale,  waving  the  jungle  grass  like  billows  of 
the  sea.  Vegetation  had  grown  so  luxuriantly 
after  the  copious  showers — especially  at  the 
lower  levels — that  King  and  the  horses  were 
covered  up  by  the  grass,  so  that  all  that  could 
be  seen  above  the  waving  jungle  was  the  white 
palanquin,  which  looked  like  a  ship  sailing  on  a 
lake.  After  marching  for  an  hour  they  came 
to  a  dry,  high  plateau  lying  to  the  east  of 
Linde  Mountain,  and  saw  enormous  thistles,^ 

'  Eschinops  giganteus  grows  in  this  country  and  is  especially 
abundant  in  Abyssinia. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     407 

with  stems  as  thick  as  tree  trunks  and  flowers 
as  large  as  human  heads.  On  the  slope  of 
many  plateaus,  which  from  a  distance  looked 
barren,  they  found  heather  eight  feet  high. 
Other  plants,  that  grow  very  small  in  Europe, 
flourished  here  large  as  the  thistles  and  heather, 
and  giant  trees,  standing  by  themselves  in  the 
jungle,  looked  like  church  towers.  Especially 
that  species  of  fig-tree  known  as  the  "daroo- 
tree,"  whose  "weeping"  branches  turn  into  new 
stems  on  touching  the  ground,  covered  enor- 
mous areas,  so  that  each  tree  made  a  wilder- 
ness in  itself. 

From  afar  off  the  country  appeared  like  one 
unbroken  forest;  but  when  nearer  it  could  be 
seen  that  the  large  trees  grew  only  in  certain 
places — at  various  distances  apart.  Toward 
the  north  very  few  of  them  could  be  seen,  and 
the  country  seemed  more  like  a  mountainous 
steppe  covered  with  an  even  jungle,  out  of 
which  the  umbrella-shaped  acacias  alone  tow- 
ered. The  grasses  there  were  greener,  smaller, 
and  apparently  better  suited  for  grazing.  Nell 
from  her  high  seat  on  King's  back  and 
Stasch  from  a  hillock  saw  larger  herds  of  ante- 
lope than  they  had  ever  seen  before.  The 
animals  of  each  species  grazed  by  themselves, 
or  occasionally  intermingled  with  the  gnu, 
boar,  gazel,  Ariel,  female  antelope,  buffalo, 
spring-buck,  large  koodoo,  and  others.  There 
were  a  great  many  zebras  and  giraffes  to  be 
seen.    On  observing  the  caravan  in  the  grass 


408     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  animals  stood  still,  threw  up  their  heads, 
pricked  up  their  ears,  and  looked  at  the  white 
palanquin  in  surprise;  then  they  immediately 
dispersed  and  ran  away  for  a  few  hundred 
feet,  then  stared  again  at  the  strange  appari- 
tion, until  they  had  satisfied  their  curiosity, 
and  calmly  began  to  graze  again.  From  time 
to  time  there  appeared  in  front  of  the  caravan 
a  rhinoceros  growling  and  snarling,  but  not- 
withstanding its  aggressive  nature  and  its  dis- 
position to  attack  everything  that  comes  in  its 
way,  it  fled  ignominiously  before  the  glance  of 
King,  who  was  only  kept  from  following  it  by 
a  command  from  Stasch. 

The  African  elephant  hates  the  rhinoceros, 
and  if  he  comes  across  a  fresh  trail  he  follows 
it  up  till  he  finds  his  adversary,  and,  relying 
on  his  superior  strength,  begins  the  fight  in 
which  the  rhinoceros  is  nearly  always  worsted. 
It  was  not  very  easy  for  King,  who  certainly 
had  more  than  one  death  on  his  conscience,  to 
renounce  his  old  habit,  but  he  was  now  tame 
and  accustomed  to  look  upon  Stasch  as  his 
master ;  therefore,  on  hearing  his  voice,  and  see- 
ing his  bright  and  threatening  eyes,  the  beast 
dropped  his  upturned  trunk,  drew  in  his  ears, 
and  calmly  walked  on.  Though  Stasch  would 
have  enjoyed  seeing  a  fight  between  these 
giants,  he  was  afraid  of  its  effect  on  Nell.  If 
the  elephant  were  to  gallop,  the  palanquin 
might  fall  to  pieces,  or,  what  would  be  worse, 
the  enormous  animal  might  knock  it  against  a 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      409 

tree;  so  Nell's  life  would  be  in  great  danger. 
From  the  tales  of  the  chase  which  Stasch  had 
read  when  at  Port  Said  he  learned  that  in  India 
people  hunting  tigers  are  more  afraid  that  the 
elephant,  in  the  excitement  of  the  chase,  might 
knock  the  small  tower  against  a  tree  than  they 
are  even  of  the  tigers.  Besides,  the  giant  gal- 
lops so  clumsily  that  to  ride  like  that  any  length 
of  time  would  endanger  one's  health. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  presence  of  King  ob- 
viated many  dangers.  The  vicious  buffaloes 
they  met  that  day  on  their  way  to  the  small 
lake,  where  all  the  animals  in  the  neighborhood 
congregated  at  nightfall,  also  fled  when  he 
looked  at  them,  and  ran  to  the  other  side  of  the 
lake  to  drink.  With  his  left  foot  tied  to  a  tree. 
King  guarded  the  tent  in  which  Nell  slept,  and 
this  so  thoroughly  protected  her  that  although 
Stasch  kept  a  fire  burning,'  he  thought  it  un- 
necessary to  build  a  hedge  around  the  camp, 
although  he  knew  that  there  must  certainly  be 
lions  in  the  vicinity  of  so  many  herds  of  ante- 
lope; in  fact,  some  of  them  began  to  roar  that 
very  night  among  the  enormous  juniper-trees^ 
on  the  mountain  slope.  Attracted  by  the  scent 
of  the  horses,  they  approached  the  camp,  not- 
withstanding the  burning  fire,  but  when  King 
could  no  longer  stand  their  constant  roaring, 
and  began  to  send  forth  his  threatening,  thun- 
der-like    trumpeting,     they     quieted     down 

'  In  Abyssinia  in  the  Karamajo  Mountains,  the  juniper  trees 
attain  a  height  of  fifty  feet. 


410     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

humbly,  for  they  seemed  to  know  that  they 
had  better  not  come  in  contact  with  such  an 
antagonist.  After  this  the  children  slept 
soundly  for  the  remainder  of  the  night,  and 
they  did  not  continue  their  journey  until  day- 
break. 

But  now  Stasch  was  to  have  new  troubles 
and  worries.  He  noticed  that  they  were  travel- 
ing very  slowly  and  that  they  could  not  cover 
more  than  ten  kilometers  a  day.  If  they  pro- 
gressed no  faster  than  that  they  would  cer- 
tainly not  reach  the  borders  of  Abyssinia  in  a 
month,  but  as  Stasch  had  decided  to  follow 
Linde's  advice  impHcitly  (he  had  distinctly  said 
that  they  would  not  be  able  to  reach  Abys- 
sinia), the  road  to  the  ocean  was  the  only  one 
that  they  could  take.  But  according  to  the  cal- 
culation made  by  the  Swiss,  more  than  a  thou- 
sand kilometers  lay  between  them  and  the  ocean ; 
that  is,  in  a  direct  line;  for  by  way  of  Mom- 
basa, which  lies  in  a  more  southerly  direction, 
it  is  farther  away,  and  it  would  take  more  than 
three  months  to  make  the  journey.  Stasch  was 
terrified  when  he  thought  that  this  meant  three 
months  of  fatigue,  excitement,  and  danger 
from  encounters  with  tribes  of  negroes.  Now 
they  were  still  in  a  barren  country,  depopu- 
lated by  smallpox  and  rumors  of  attacks  by  the 
Dervishes ;  but  as,  on  the  whole,  Africa  is  fairly 
well  populated,  sooner  or  later  they  were  bound 
to  come  to  places  inhabited  by  strange  tribes, 
which  would  probably  be  ruled  by  savage  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     411 

treacherous  chiefs.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  re- 
tain one's  freedom  and  one's  Hfe  amid  such 
dangers. 

Therefore  Stasch  calculated  that  if  they 
could  come  across  the  Wa-hima  tribe  he  would 
teach  several  of  the  warriors  how  to  shoot,  and 
by  making  great  promises  would  induce  them 
to  accompany  their  party  to  the  ocean.  But 
Kali  had  not  the  least  idea  where  his  tribe  lived, 
and  Linde,  "ho  had  heard  something  about 
them,  coulc  -  n*"  '  "^'  tell  how  to  reach  them,  nor 
could  he  ^  ^om  qP^'  -t  description  of  the  place 
where  tl"  ,i^->'  'Linde  had  also  mentioned 
having  heard  about  a  large  lake,  and  Kali  dis- 
tinctly declared  the  Wa-hima  live  on  one  side 
of  this  lake,  which  he  called  Basso-Narok,  on 
the  other  side  of  which  the  Samburu  live.  But 
now  Stasch  was  worried  because  that  lake  was 
not  mentioned  in  the  geography  of  Africa, 
which  he  had  studied  carefully  at  school  in  Port 
Said.  If  Kali  had  been  the  only  one  to  men- 
tion it  Stasch  would  have  supposed  it  to  be 
Victoria-Nyanza,  but  Linde  could  not  have 
made  a  mistake  like  that  if  he  had  marched 
from  Victoria  Lake  northward  along  the  Kara- 
majo  Mountains.  Stasch  came  to  the  con- 
clusion, after  questioning  the  inhabitants  of 
these  mountains,  that  this  mj^sterious  lake 
ought  to  lie  further  to  the  east  and  north. 
Stasch  did  not  know  what  to  think  of  all  this ; 
he  was  also  afraid  he  might  miss  the  lake  and 
come  across  the  Wa-himas  or  other  savage 


412     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

tribes,  arid  jungles,  impassable  mountains,  the 
tsetse-flies,  which  might  kill  the  animals,  the 
sleeping-sickness,  the  fever  for  Nell,  the  heat, 
and  worst  of  all  those  interminable  distances 
which  still  separated  them  from  the  ocean. 

But  having  left  Linde  Mountain,  the  only 
thing  to  do  was  to  advance  steadily  due  east. 
Linde  had  said  that  this  was  a  journey  to  tax 
the  strength  of  an  experienced  and  energetic 
explorer  to  the  utmost,  but  Stasch  had  already 
had  great  experience,  and  for  j^^ell's  sake  he 
determined  not  to  think  of  himsel.lbpd  to  spare 
no  energy  to  accomplish  his  purpWI  For  the 
present  it  was  necessary  to  save  the  girl's 
strength,  and  so  he  decided  to  travel  only  be- 
tween six  and  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
from  three  to  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when 
there  happened  to  be  no  water  at  their  first 
halting-place.  However,  as  there  had  been 
plenty  of  rain  during  the  rainy  season,  they 
found  water  everywhere.  The  small  lakes 
formed  on  the  lowlands  by  the  showers  were 
still  well  filled,  and  here  and  there  rivers  of 
crj^stal-clear  cold  water  flowed  from  the  moun- 
tains ;  these  were  very  inviting  to  bathe  in,  and 
also  very  safe,  for  crocodiles  only  live  in  larger 
streams  where  there  are  plenty  of  fish,  upon 
which  they  chiefly  subsist.  As  Stasch  had 
found  a  very  good  filter  among  Linde's  things, 
he  did  not  allow  the  girl  to  drink  unfiltered 
water.  The  filter  always  surprised  Kali  and 
Mea,  for  they  saw  that,  though  filled  with 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      413 

clouded  and  whitish  water,  only  clean  and  clear 
water  flowed  from  it  into  the  reservoir  beneath. 
At  this  they  laughed  and  slapped  their  knees, 
to  show  their  pleasure  and  surprise. 

On  the  whole  the  beginning  of  their  journey 
was  made  by  easy  stages.  They  had  received 
from  Linde  large  supplies  of  coffee,  tea,  sugar, 
bouillon,  various  canned  goods,  and  all  kinds 
of  medicines.  Stasch  was  not  sparing  of  these, 
for  they  had  more  than  they  could  take  with 
them.  They  also  had  plenty  of  utensils  of  all 
kinds,  weapons  of  various  caliber,  and  rockets, 
which  would  be  of  great  service  when  meeting 
negroes.  The  country  was  very  fertile,  and 
there  was  plenty  of  fruit  and  fresh  meat.  In 
the  lowlands  they  occasionally  came  across 
swamps,  which  had  not  evaporated  sufficiently 
to  poison  the  air  with  their  deadly  odors,  being 
still  covered  over  with  water.  At  this  height 
there  were  no  mosquitoes  to  innoculate  one  with 
the  fever;  still,  the  altitude  did  not  prevent  it 
from  becoming  unbearably  hot  by  ten  o'clock. 
The  small  travelers  made  a  halt  during  the  so- 
called  "white  hours"  in  the  deep  shade  of  large 
trees,  through  the  thick  foliage  of  which  not  a 
ray  of  sun  could  penetrate.  And  so  Nell, 
Stasch,  and  the  negroes  kept  in  excellent 
health. 


414     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER   XVII 

ON  THE  fifth  day  of  their  journey  Stasch 
rode  with  Nell  on  King,  for  they  had  come 
to  a  broad  belt  of  acacias,  which  were  so  thick 
that  the  horses  had  to  follow  in  the  path  made 
by  the  elephant.  It  was  now  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  the  landscape  was  glistening,  fresh 
with  dew.  The  children  talked  about  the  jour- 
ney,  and  how  every  day  was  bringing  them 
nearer  to  their  fathers,  for  both  children  had 
never  ceased  to  long  for  them  since  they  were 
taken  from  Fayoum;  their  conversation  cen- 
tered around  this  subject,  and  they  always 
ended  by  weeping.  They  repeated  over  and  over 
again  the  same  thoughts:  their  fathers  think 
that  they  are  now  dead,  or  that  they  have  dis- 
appeared never  to  return;  both  are  grieving, 
and,  although  hope  is  well  nigh  dead,  they 
send  Arabians  to  Khartum  to  try  to  get  news 
of  them,  and  all  this  time  they  are  not  only  far 
away  from  Khartum,  but  also  from  Fashoda — 
in  five  days  they  will  be  even  further  off — 
then  further  and  further  still,  and  at  last  they 
will  reach  the  ocean,  or  perhaps  before  they 
come  to  the  sea  they  may  reach  a  place  where 
they  can  send  a  telegram.  The  only  person 
in  the  caravan  who  knew  what  they  had  before 
them  was  Stasch,  while  Nell  was  positively 
convinced  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  world 
that  he  could  not  achieve,  and  she  was  quite 
sure  that  he  would  bring  her  to  the  coast.    So 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     415 

she  anticipated  events,  and  planned  in  her  little 
head  more  than  once  what  would  happen  when 
the  first  news  of  them  should  be  received. 
Chirping  like  a  little  bird,  she  told  Stasch  about 
it.  "Our  papas,"  she  said,  "are  sitting  in  Port 
Said,  and  they  are  weeping;  then  suddenly  a 
boy  comes  in  with  a  telegram.  What's  that? 
Either  your  papa  or  mine  opens  it,  looks  at 
the  signature  and  reads:  'Stasch  and  Nell!' 
How  happy  they  are !  They  will  make  all  haste 
to  meet  us!  There  will  be  joy  in  the  whole 
house!  Our  papas  and  every  one  in  the  house 
will  be  happy — they  will  be  delighted  and  will 
immediately  come  driving  up.  I  shall  fall  on 
papa's  neck ;  then  we  shall  always  be  together, 

and " 

And  the  tale  ended  with  Nell's  chin  begin- 
ning to  tremble,  her  beautiful  eyes  turning  into 
two  fountains,  and  finally  by  leaning  her  little 
head  on  Stasch's  shoulder  and  crying  for  sor- 
row, longing,  and  joy  at  the  thought  of  the 
future  meeting.  Stasch  rather  imagined  that 
his  father  would  be  proud  of  him  and  would  say 
to  him:  "You  have  acted  like  a  true  Pole,"  and 
he  was  then  overcome  by  emotion,  great  long- 
ing, and  enthusiasm,  and  an  immovable  cour- 
age, hard  as  steel,  took  possession  of  his  heart. 
"I  must/'  he  said  to  himself  in  these  moments, 
"save  Nell.  I  must  go  through  these  trials." 
Then  it  seemed  to  him  that  there  were  no  dan- 
gers he  could  not  face,  no  obstacles  he  could  not 
overcome. 


416     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

But  the  final  victory  was  far  off  yet.  They 
worked  their  way  through  the  grove  of  acacias, 
the  long  thorns  of  the  bushes  tearing  even  the 
hide  of  the  elephant.  Eventually  more  light 
penetrated  the  forest,  and  through  the  branches 
of  the  scattered  trees  a  gray  jungle  could  be 
seen  in  the  distance.  Although  the  heat  was 
very  oppressive,  Stasch  climbed  out  of  the 
palanquin,  settled  himself  on  King's  neck,  and 
looked  around  in  search  of  herds  of  antelope 
or  zebras,  for  he  determined  to  provide  more 
meat  for  them  to  eat. 

To  the  right  he  saw  two  gazels  and  beyond 
them  two  ostriches.  On  passing  the  last  group 
of  trees  the  elephant  turned  off  to  the  left,  and 
then  a  different  sight  presented  itself  to  the 
boy.  Half  a  kilometer  away  he  saw  a  very  large 
field  of  manioc,  and  on  the  edge  of  the  field  sev- 
eral black  people,  apparently  busy  working. 

"Negroes !"  he  cried  out,  turning  to  Nell. 

His  heart  began  to  beat  violently.  For  a 
moment  he  hesitated  whether  he  should  not 
return  and  hide  in  the  acacias,  but  it  occurred 
to  him  that  in  an  inhabited  district  one  must 
sooner  or  later  be  obliged  to  meet  its  inhabi- 
tants and  have  relations  with  them,  and  that 
the  fate  of  their  journey  would  depend  on  the 
nature  of  these  relations ;  so  after  quick  reflec- 
tion he  guided  the  elephant  toward  the  field. 

At  the  same  moment  Kali  also  appeared,  and 
pointing  to  the  group  of  trees,  said: 

"Great  Man,  over  there  is  a  negro  village. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     417 

and  women  are  working  in  the  manioc  fields. 
Shall  I  ride  to  them?" 

"We  will  ride  there  together,"  answered 
Stasch,  "and  then  you  will  tell  them  that  we 
come  as  friends." 

"Sir,  I  know  what  to  say  to  them,"  cried  the 
young  negro,  feeling  his  great  importance. 

Turning  his  horse  toward  the  workers,  he 
placed  his  hands  trumpet-hke  to  his  mouth  and 
cried : 

"Jambo  he!    Jambo  sana!" 

When  the  women,  who  were  very  busy  dig- 
ging up  the  manioc  roots,  heard  his  voice,  they 
sprang  up  and  stood  as  if  rooted  to  the  spot; 
but  this  quiet  only  lasted  a  moment,  for  they 
began  to  scream  and  run  off  toward  the  trees, 
in  the  midst  of  which  the  village  lay,  in  their 
excitement  leaving  their  hoes  and  rakes  behind 
them. 

The  small  wanderers  approached  this  village 
slowly  and  silently.  The  thicket  resounded 
with  the  howling  of  several  hundred  voices; 
then  silence  reigned.  At  last  the  hollow,  pene- 
trating beating  of  a  drum  was  heard,  which 
continued  incessantly  for  some  time. 

This  was  evidently  to  call  the  warriors  to 
war,  for  suddenly  more  than  three  hundred  of 
them  appeared  from  out  of  the  bushes,  and  they 
all  stood  in  one  long  line  before  the  village. 
When  a  hundred  feet  distant  Stasch  brought 
King  to  a  standstill  and  began  to  look  at  them. 
The  sun  beat  down  on  their  well-formed  bodies, 


418     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

on  their  broad  chests,  and  their  strong  shoul- 
ders. They  were  armed  with  bows  and  spears. 
Around  their  hips  they  wore  short  skirts  of 
heather  or  monkey  skin.  Their  heads  were 
adorned  with  ostrich  and  parrot  feathers  or 
large  wigs  made  of  baboons'  scalps.  They 
looked  warlike  and  menacing,  but  stood  silent 
and  immovable,  for  they  were  so  utterly  aston- 
ished that  their  inclination  to  fight  was  kept 
within  bounds.  All  eyes  were  fixed  on  King, 
on  the  white  palanquin,  and  on  the  white  per- 
son sitting  on  the  neck  of  the  elephant. 

And  yet  elephants  were  not  strangers  to 
them.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  continually 
at  the  mercy  of  elephants,  for  at  night  whole 
herds  would  destroy  their  manioc  fields  and 
their  plantations  of  bananas  and  palms.  As 
spears  and  arrows  can  not  pierce  an  elephant's 
hide,  the  poor  negroes  fought  against  the  mis- 
chief-makers by  means  of  fire  and  screams,  in 
which  they  imitated  the  crowing  of  cocks,  and 
they  dug  out  trenches  and  made  traps  with  tree 
trunks.  But  they  had  never  seen  an  elephant 
made  the  slave  of  man  and  allowing  him  to  sit 
on  its  neck;  and  none  of  them  was  able  to  ac- 
count for  this  extraordinary  sight.  What  they 
saw  so  transcended  their  wildest  imaginations 
that  they  did  not  know  what  course  to  pursue — 
whether  to  fight  or  to  run  away  as  fast  as  their 
feet  could  carry  them  and  leave  the  rest  to 
chance.  Full  of  doubt,  fear,  and  surprise,  they 
continually  whispered  to  one  another: 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     419 

"Oh,  mother!  What  are  these  beings  who 
come  here  to  us,  and  how  will  they  be  disposed 
toward  us?" 

Kali,  who  had  ridden  up  to  within  a  spear's 
throw  of  them,  raised  himself  up  in  his  stir- 
rups and  cried: 

"People,  people !  Listen  to  the  voice  of  Kali, 
the  son  of  Fumba,  the  powerful  king  of  the 
Wa-himas,  who  live  on  the  banks  of  the  Basso- 
Narok —  Oh,  hear,  hear! —  And  if  you  un- 
derstand him,  listen  to  every  word  he  is  going 
to  say!" 

"We  understand,"  rang  the  answer  from 
three  hundred  throats. 

"Let  your  king  advance,  let  him  tell  me  his 
name,  and  let  him  open  his  ears  and  lips  so  that 
he  can  hear  better." 

"M'Rua!  M'Rua!"  many  voices  began  to 
cry  out. 

M'Rua  stepped  out  of  the  rank  and  file,  but 
took  only  three  steps  forward.  He  was  an 
aged  negro,  tall  and  strongly  built,  but  who 
evidently  had  no  courage  to  spare,  for  his  legs 
trembled  so  that  he  had  to  dig  the  point  of  his 
spear  into  the  ground  and  to  lean  on  its  hilt 
to  keep  from  falling. 

Other  warriors  followed  his  example,  and 
dug  their  spears  into  the  ground,  as  a  sign  that 
they  wished  to  listen  peacefully  to  the  tidings 
of  the  stranger. 

Thereupon  Kali  declaimed  at  the  top  of  his 
voice : 


420     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"M'Rua,  and  you,  M'Rua's  people!  You 
have  heard  that  the  son  of  the  king  of  the 
Wa-himas  is  talking  to  you,  whose  cows  cover 
the  mountains  around  the  Basso-Narok  as 
ants  cover  the  carcass  of  a  dead  giraffe.  And 
what  is  Kali,  the  son  of  the  king  of  the  Wa- 
himas,  saying?  He  is  telling  you  a  great  piece 
of  good  news,  which  is  that  the  'good  Msimu' 
has  come  to  your  village!" 

Then  he  cried  still  louder: 

"So  it  is — the  good  Msimu!    Doo!" 

From  the  silence  that  ensued  one  could  read- 
ily guess  what  a  tremendous  effect  Kali's  words 
had  aroused.  The  warriors  began  to  separate 
and  then  to  form  in  groups;  some  advanced  a 
few  steps  through  curiosity,  whilst  others  drew 
back  through  fear.  M'Rua  leaned  with  both 
hands  on  his  spear,  and  for  a  short  time  perfect 
silence  ensued,  followed  by  a  slight  whispering 
through  the  ranks,  and  one  voice  at  a  ,time  re- 
peated : 

"Msimu!  Msimu!"  and  here  and  there  the 
cries:  "Yancig!  Yancig!"  which  expressed  ad- 
miration and  welcome,  were  to  be  heard. 

But  Kali's  voice  rose  again  above  the  noises 
and  screams. 

"Gaze  and  be  happy!  The  good  Msimu  is 
sitting  over  there  in  the  white  hut  on  the  back 
of  the  large  elephant,  and  the  large  elephant 
obeys  it  like  a  slave  obeys  his  master  and  a  child 
obeys  his  mother.  Oh,  neither  you  nor  your 
fathers  have  ever  seen  anything  like  this " 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     421 

"No,  no!  We  have  never  seen  anything  like 
this !    Yancig !    Yancig ! ' ' 

The  eyes  of  all  the  warriors  turned  to  the 
"hut,"  in  other  words,  to  the  palanquin. 

And  Kali,  who  in  the  course  of  the  religious 
training  he  had  received  on  Linde  Mountain 
had  been  told  that  faith  can  move  mountains, 
was  quite  convinced  that  the  prayer  of  the  white 
"Bibi"  was  all  powerful  with  God,  and  so  he 
continued  to  speak,  as  he  thought  truthfully, 
about  the  good  Msimu. 

"Listen!  Listen!  The  good  Msimu  is  rid- 
ing on  the  elephant  to  that  country  in  which 
the  sun  rises  out  of  the  water  behind  the  moun- 
tains. There  the  good  Msimu  will  tell  the 
Great  Spirit  to  send  you  clouds,  and  these 
clouds  will,  in  seasons  of  drought,  water  your 
millet,  your  manioc,  your  bananas,  and  the 
grass  in  the  jungle,  so  that  j^ou  will  have  plenty 
to  eat,  and  your  cows  will  have  good  fodder 
and  will  give  rich  milk.  Do  you,  oh  people, 
need  food  and  milk?" 

"He!    We  need  it!    We  need  it!" 

"And  the  good  Msimu  will  tell  the  Great 
Spirit  to  send  you  a  wind  which  will  blow  away 
from  your  village  that  sickness  which  honey- 
combs the  body.  Do  you,  oh  people,  want  it 
to  blow  the  sickness  away?" 

"He!    Let  it  blow  it  away!" 

"And  at  the  prayer  of  the  good  Msimu  the 
Great  Spirit  will  protect  you  from  attacks, 
from  slavery,  from  damage  to  your  fields,  from 


422     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

lions,  from  panthers,  from  snakes  and  from 
locusts " 

"He!    Let  him  do  it!" 

*'Now  listen,  look  and  see  who  sits  in  front 
of  the  hut  between  the  ears  of  the  terrible  ele- 
phant. There  is  Bwana  Kubwa,  the  white 
man,  great  and  strong,  whom  even  the  elephant 
fears." 

"He!" 

"Who  has  thunder  in  his  hands  and  uses  it  to 
kill  bad  men." 

"He!" 

"Who  kills  lions." 

"He!" 

"Who  sends  up  fiery  snakes!" 

"He!" 

"Who  breaks  rocks!" 

"He!" 

"But  who  will  do  you  no  harm  if  you  will 
respect  the  good  Msimul" 

"Yancig!    Yancig!" 

"And  if  you  will  bring  him  dried  banana 
flour,  eggs,  fresh  milk,  and  honey." 

"Yancig!    Yancig!" 

"Then  come  nearer  and  fall  on  your  faces 
before  the  good  Msimu." 

M'Rua  and  his  warriors  started  off,  repeating 
continuously,  "Yancig!  Yancig!"  Then  ap- 
proaching cautiously,  they  moved  a  short  dis- 
tance nearer,  for  their  steps  were  halted  by  their 
superstitious  fear  of  the  Msimu  and  the  ele- 
phant.   The  sight  of  Saba  also  filled  them  with 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     423 

terror,  for  they  took  him  to  be  a  "wobo,"  a 
large  golden  leopard,  inhabiting  that  district 
and  also  southern  Abyssinia,  which  the  natives 
fear  more  than  a  lion  because  it  is  especially 
fond  of  human  flesh,  and  is  even  bold  enough 
to  attack  armed  men.  But  they  were  pacified 
on  seeing  that  the  little  fat-faced  negro  held  the 
terrible  "wobo"  by  a  leash.  This  gave  them 
a  still  higher  conception  of  the  power  of  the 
good  Msimu,  and  also  of  the  white  man,  and 
while  looking  first  at  the  white  elephant,  then 
at  Saba,  they  whispered  to  each  other:  "If  they 
have  even  bewitched  wobo,  who  in  the  world 
can  struggle  successfully  against  them?"  But 
the  most  solemn  moment  was  when  Stasch, 
turning  to  Xell,  bowed  low  and  then  pushed 
back  the  sides  of  the  palanquin,  which  were 
arranged  like  curtains,  and  showed  the  good 
Msimu  to  the  assembled  multitude.  M'Rua 
and  every  one  of  the  warriors  fell  on  their  faces, 
so  that  their  bodies  formed  a  long,  living 
bridge.  None  dared  to  move,  and  all  hearts 
were  even  more  terror-stricken  when  just  at 
that  very  moment  King,  either  by  order  of 
Stasch  or  of  his  own  accord,  threw  up  his  trunk 
and  began  to  trumpet  very  loud,  and  Saba  fol- 
lowed his  example  in  the  deepest  bass  which  he 
could  muster.  Then  there  rang  out  from  the 
hearts  of  all  the  warriors  a  cry  like  a  beseeching 
groaning:  "Aka!  Aka!  Aka!"  and  this  lasted 
a  long  while,  until  Kali  continued: 

"Oh,  M'Rua  and  you  children  of  M'Rua  I 


424      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

You  have  now  done  reverence  before  the  good 
Msimu;  so  arise  and  fill  your  eyes  with  the 
sight  of  it,  for  whoever  does  this,  over  him  will 
be  the  blessing  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Banish  all 
fear  from  your  hearts,  and  know  that  where 
the  good  Msimu  is,  human  blood  can  not  be 
shed." 

At  these  words,  and  especially  after  the  ex- 
planation that  on  account  of  the  good  Msimu 
none  could  be  carried  away  by  death,  M'Rua 
stood  up,  and  the  other  warriors  followed  his 
example,  and  they  began  shyly,  but  also  with 
great  curiosity,  to  gaze  at  the  gracious  godhead. 
If  Kali  had  asked  them  a  second  time,  they 
would  certainly  have  had  to  confess  that  neither 
their  fathers  nor  they  had  ever  seen  anything 
hke  this.  For  their  eyes  were  accustomed  to 
mask-like,  grotesque  figures  of  idols,  made  out 
of  wood  and  hairy  cocoanuts,  and  now  there 
stood  before  them  on  the  back  of  the  elephant 
a  blonde,  gentle,  sweet,  and  smiling  godhead, 
resembling  a  white  bird  and  a  white  flower,  and 
so  they  gained  confidence ;  their  hearts  breathed 
freely  once  more,  their  thick  hps  began  to  smile, 
and  unconsciously  stretching  their  hands  out 
toward  the  wonderful  apparition,  they  cried: 
"Oh,  Yancig!  Yancig!  Yancig!" 
But  Stasch,  who  noticed  everything  that  was 
going  on,  perceived  as  soon  as  Kali  stopped 
speaking  that  a  negro,  adorned  with  a  pointed 
cap  of  ratskin,  had  slipped  out  of  line,  and, 
gliding  along  in  the  grass  like  a  snake,  had 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      425 

gone  in  the  direction  of  a  solitary  hut  lying 
at  the  rear  of  the  enclosure,  which  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  railing  held  together  by 
creepers. 

Meanwhile  the  good  Msimu,  though  greatly 
embarrassed  by  being  set  up  as  a  godhead,  put 
out  her  little  hand  at  Stasch's  request  and 
greeted  the  negroes.  The  black  warriors,  their 
eyes  shining  with  pleasure,  followed  every 
movement  of  this  little  hand,  believing  that  it 
possessed  a  powerful  charm,  which  would  pro- 
tect them  against  many  misfortunes.  Some, 
whilst  striking  their  cheeks  and  hips,  said:  "Oh, 
mother !  Now  everything  will  go  well  with  us — 
with  us  and  with  our  cows !"  M'Rua,  who  had 
already  become  quite  familiar,  approached  the 
elephant,  prostrated  himself,  striking  the 
ground  with  his  forehead,  before  the  good 
Msimu,  and  whilst  kneeling  said  to   Stasch: 

"Would  the  Great  Man,  who  leads  the  white 
godhead  on  the  elephant,  Kke  to  eat  a  piece  of 
M'Rua  and  would  he  agree  to  let  M'Rua  eat 
a  piece  of  him,  so  that  we  shall  be  brothers, 
between  whom  there  is  no  deceit  or  treason?" 

Kali  immediately  interpreted  these  words, 
but  as  he  saw  by  Stasch's  face  that  the  latter 
had  no  inclination  to  taste  a  "piece"  of  M'Rua, 
he  turned  to  the  negro  and  said: 

"Oh,  M'Rua!  Do  you  really  think  that  the 
white  man,  who  is  so  powerful  that  the  ele- 
phant fears  him,  who  has  the  thunder  within 
his  grasp,  who  kills  lions,  before  whom  wobo 


426     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

wags  his  tail,  who  commands  fiery  snakes  to 
rise  up  into  the  sky,  and  who  shatters  rocks — 
do  you  think  that  he  can  pledge  blood  brother- 
hood with  any  king  he  may  happen  to  meet? 
But  rather  think  whether  the  Great  Spirit  will 
not  punish  you  for  being  so  presumptuous  and 
whether  it  will  not  be  honor  enough  for  you  to 
eat  a  piece  of  Kali,  the  son  of  Fumba,  the  ruler 
of  the  Wa-hima,  and  Kali,  son  of  Fumba,  to 
eat  a  piece  of  you." 

"Are  }^ou  his  slave?"  asked  M'Rua. 

"The  Great  Man  neither  stole  nor  bought 
Kali,  but  only  saved  his  life;  that  is  why  Kali 
leads  the  good  Msimu  and  the  man  into  the 
land  of  the  Wa-hima,  so  that  the  Wa-hima 
and  Fumba  can  show  them  respect  and  bring 
them  many  presents." 

"Let  it  be  as  you  say,  and  M'Rua  shall  eat 
a  piece  of  Kali,  and  Kali  a  piece  of  M'Rua!" 

"So  let  it  be!"  repeated  the  warriors. 

"Where  is  the  sorcerer?"  asked  the  king. 

"Where  is  the  sorcerer?  Where  is  the  sor- 
cerer? Where  is  Kamba?"  at  once  cried  many 
voices. 

Then  something  happened  that  might  have 
completely  changed  the  situation,  clouded  the 
friendly  relations,  and  converted  the  negroes 
into  the  enemies  of  their  newly  arrived  guests. 
From  the  hut  which  stood  apart,  surrounded  by 
a  special  fence,  there  suddenly  came  an  infernal 
noise.  It  was  like  the  roar  of  a  lion,  the  clap 
of  thunder,  the  blast  of  trumpets,  the  laugh  of 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     427 

a  hyena,  the  howl  of  a  wolf,  and  the  terrible 
squeak  of  rusty  hinges.  When  King  heard 
these  awful  sounds  he  began  to  roar,  Saba  be- 
gan to  bark,  and  the  donkey,  on  which  Nasibu 
sat,  to  cry  out  "J-a!"  The  warriors  sprang 
up  as  if  drenched  with  boiling  water  and  tore 
their  spears  out  of  the  ground.  Terrible  con- 
fusion ensued.  The  disturbing  cries  of  "Our 
Msimu!  Our  Msimu!"  reached  Stasch's  ears, 
and  the  respect  and  good-will  with  which  the 
negroes  had  looked  upon  the  newcomers  disap- 
peared in  an  instant.  The  savages  began  to 
throw  suspicious  and  hostile  glances  around. 
Amongst  the  crowd  a  threatening  noise  was 
heard  and  the  awful  din  in  the  lonely  hut  in- 
creased more  and  more. 

Kali  was  troubled,  and  bending  over  quickly 
to  Stasch,  he  began  to  whisper — his  voice  filled 
with  emotion  and  fright : 

"Sir,  the  sorcerer  has  awakened  the  bad 
Msimu,  who  fears  that  he  will  not  receive  any 
presents,  and  is  roaring  with  rage.  Sir,  pacify 
the  sorcerer  and  the  bad  Msimu  with  generous 
gifts — otherwise  these  people  will  turn  against 
us." 

"Pacify  them !"  cried  Stasch. 

He  suddenly  became  enraged  against  the 
wickedness  and  covetousness  of  the  sorcerer. 
He  was  also  greatly  alarmed  at  this  unlooked- 
for  danger.  The  expression  of  his  tanned  face 
changed,  just  as  it  had  done  when  he  shot  down 
Gebhr,  Chamis,  and  the  two  Bedouins.     His 


428     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

eyes  shone  threateningly  and  he  bit  his  lips, 
clenched  his  fists,  and  his  cheeks  grew  pale. 

"Ah I  I  will  soon  pacify  them!"  he  said. 

Without  wasting  any  time,  he  led  the  ele- 
phant toward  the  hut. 

Kali,  who  was  afraid  to  remain  alone  among 
the  negroes,  followed  him.  Then  rose  from 
the  warriors  a  loud  cry,  whether  of  fear  or  rage 
it  was  hard  to  tell,  but  before  they  could  regain 
their  composure  the  railing  creaked  and  broke 
down  under  the  shock  of  the  elephant's  head, 
the  clay  walls  of  the  hut  fell  apart,  the  roof 
caved  in,  a  cloud  of  ruins  and  dust  flew  into 
the  air,  and  after  a  while  M'Rua  and  his  people 
saw  the  long,  black,  upturned  trunk  on  the  end 
of  which  was  the  sorcerer,  Kamba. 

Stasch,  who  saw  on  the  floor  of  the  hut  a 
large  drum  made  out  of  a  hoUowed-out  tree, 
and  covered  with  a  monkey-skin,  made  Kali 
give  it  to  him,  and  turning  around,  he  stood 
facing  the  warriors,  looking  straight  into  their 
eyes: 

"Hear,  O  people!"  he  said  in  a  loud,  re- 
sounding voice;  "it  was  not  your  Msimu  who 
roared,  but  only  that  villain  there,  who  pounds 
the  drum  to  wring  presents  from  you,  and  you 
are  as  afraid  of  him  as  children!" 

At  these  words  he  took  hold  of  the  string 
which  was  drawn  through  the  dried  skin  of  the 
drum  and  began  to  pull  at  it  and  twist  it  with 
all  his  might.  The  same  sounds  which  had 
terrified   the   negroes   before   now   rang   out 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     429 

again,  only  much  louder,  for  the  walls  of  the 
hut  did  not  smother  them. 

"Oh,  how  foolish  are  M'Rua  and  his  chil- 
dren!" cried  Kali. 

Stasch  handed  him  the  drum,  and  Kali  beat 
so  frantically  that  for  a  while  one  could  not 
hear  one's  self  talk.  When  he  tired  of  this  he 
threw  the  drum  at  M'Rua's  feet,  and  'mid 
shrieks  of  laughter  said: 

"That  thing  is  your  Msimu!" 

Then,  chattering,  after  the  custom  of 
negroes,  he  addressed  the  warriors,  and  was  by 
no  means  sparing  in  expressing  his  contempt 
for  them  and  for  M'Rua,  and  in  holding  them 
up  to  ridicule.  He  pointed  to  Kamba  and  ex- 
plained to  them  that  "this  thief  in  the  rat-skin 
cap"  had  deceived  them  for  many  a  rainy  and 
dry  season,  and  that  they  had  rewarded  him 
by  feeding  him  with  beans,  young  goats,  and 
honey.  Is  it  possible  that  there  could  be  a 
more  stupid  king  and  a  more  stupid  people 
than  these?  They  believed  in  the  power  of  an 
old  witch  and  in  his  witchcraft,  and  now 
they  see  how  this  great  sorcerer  hangs  from 
the  trunk  of  an  elephant  and  cries  "Aka!" 
begging  mercy  of  the  white  man.  Where  is 
his  power  now?  Where  is  his  witchcraft? 
Why  does  Msimu  not  roar  to  protect  him? 
Ah,  what  sort  of  thing  is  your  Msimu?  A 
strip  of  monkey  skin  and  a  piece  of  a  rotten 
tree-trunk,  which  the  elephant  has  destroyed. 
Neither  the  women  nor  the  children  of  the  Wa- 


430     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

himas  would  have  been  afraid  of  such  a  Msimu, 
and  M'Rua  and  his  men  were  afraid  of  it! 
There  is  only  one  real  Msimu  and  one  really 
great  and  powerful  man,  and  to  him  they  ought 
to  show  respect  and  bring  as  many  presents  as 
they  can,  for  otherwise  they  will  be  afflicted 
with  misfortunes  such  as  they  had  never 
dreamed  of. 

This  harangue  to  the  negroes  was  quite  un- 
necessarj^,  for  the  sorcerer  with  his  wicked 
Msimu  had  proved  himself  to  be  weaker  than 
the  new  god  in  such  an  extraordinary  manner, 
and  Stasch  satisfied  them  so  well,  that  they 
forswore  their  allegiance  to  the  sorcerer  and 
covered  him  with  shame.  Again  they  cried  out, 
"Yancig!"  even  more  humbly  and  earnestly 
than  before.  They  were  so  angry  now  with 
themselves  for  having  been  deceived  by  Kamba 
during  many  years  that  they  insisted  on  killing 
him.  M'Rua  begged  Stasch  to  let  them  bind 
him  and  keep  him  until  they  had  invented  a 
death  of  dreadful  torture  for  him.  But  Nell 
decided  to  spare  his  life,  and  as  Kali  had  told 
them  that  no  human  blood  could  be  shed  in 
presence  of  the  good  Msimu,  Stasch  only  per- 
mitted them  to  drive  the  unhappy  sorcerer 
from  the  village  with  shame  and  ignominy. 

Kamba,  who  feared  he  would  be  put  to  death 
by  their  cleverly  devised  tortures,  fell  on  his 
face  before  the  good  Msimu,  and  weeping  bit- 
terly, thanked  her  for  his  deliverance.  From 
this  time  forth  there  was  nothing  to  mar  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     431 

awe  they  inspired.  Women  and  children  now 
came  from  behind  the  fence,  for  the  news  of 
the  extraordinary  guest  had  abeady  spread 
throughout  the  entire  village,  and  the  desire 
to  see  the  white  Msimu  was  greater  than  their 
fear  of  her.  For  the  first  time  in  their  lives 
Stasch  and  Nell  saw  a  settlement  of  real  sav- 
ages, who  had  never  been  visited  even  by 
Arabs.  The  clothing  of  these  negroes  con- 
sisted only  of  heather  aprons  or  of  a  skin 
wound  around  the  hips,  and  every  one  was  tat- 
tooed. The  men  as  well  as  the  women  had  their 
ears  pierced,  and  through  these  holes  they  had 
thrust  such  long  pieces  of  wood  or  bone  that 
the  lobes  of  their  ears  were  drawn  down  to 
their  shoulders.  In  their  lower  lips  they  wore 
a  lip-ring,  a  round  piece  of  wood  or  bone  the 
size  of  a  saucer.  Those  of  highest  rank,  such 
as  warriors  and  their  wives,  wore  around  their 
necks  steel  or  brass  wire  collars,  so  high  and 
stiff  that  they  could  scarcely  turn  their 
heads. 

They  evidently  belonged  to  the  Schilluk 
tribe,  which  reached  far  toward  the  east,  for 
Kali  and  Mea  knew  their  language  well,  and 
Stasch  could  understand  some  things  they  said. 
Their  legs  were  not  so  long  as  those  of  their 
compatriots  who  live  in  the  district  of  the  Nile ; 
they  were  of  shorter  stature,  their  shoulders 
were  broader,  and  they  looked  less  like  wattle- 
birds.  The  children  resembled  large  fleas,  and 
not  being  disfigured  by  the  pelele,  they  were 


432     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

decidedly    better    looking    than    the    grown 
people. 

After  the  women  had  stared  long  enough  at 
the  good  Msimu  from  a  distance,  they  vied 
with  the  warriors  in  bringing  presents,  young 
goats,  fowls,  eggs,  black  beans,  and  beer  made 
from  millet.  This  lasted  until  Stasch  forbade 
them  to  bring  any  more.  He  paid  them  gen- 
erously with  glass  beads  and  colored  percale, 
and  Nell  distributed  tiny  mirrors  among  the 
children;  and  so  there  was  great  rejoicing 
throughout  the  village  and  joyful  cries  re- 
sounded about  the  tent  occupied  by  the  little 
travelers.  Then  the  warriors  held  a  war-dance 
and  a  skilfully  devised  sham  battle  in  honor  of 
the  guests,  after  which  one  of  the  warriors  sug- 
gested the  cementing  of  a  bond  of  fellowship 
between  Kali  and  M'Rua. 

As  Kamba,  who  was  usually  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal figures  in  such  a  ceremony,  had  gone  off, 
an  old  negro  who  was  very  familiar  with  the 
formula  took  his  place.  After  he  had  killed 
a  young  goat,  removed  the  liver  and  divided  it 
in  several  large  pieces,  he  began  to  twirl  around 
on  hands  and  feet  like  a  fly-wheel,  and  looking 
first  at  Kali,  then  at  M'Rua,  said  in  a  solemn 
voice : 

"Kali,  the  son  of  Fumba,  will  you  eat  a  piece 
of  M'Rua,  the  son  of  M'Kuli — and  you, 
M'Rua,  son  of  M'Kuli,  will  you  eat  a  piece  of 
Kali,  the  son  of  Fumba?" 

"We  will !"  cried  the  future  brothers. 


"The  People  saw  the  long,  black  trunk,  on  the  end  of 
which  was  the  sorcerer,  Kaniba." — Page  428. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     433 

"Do  you  wish  that  Kah's  heart  should  be 
M'Rua's  heart,  and  M'Rua's  heart  should  be 
Kah's  heart?" 

"We  wish  it!" 

"And  the  hands,  the  spears,  and  the  cows?" 

"And  the  cows!" 

"And  everything  which  either  one  possesses 
now  or  will  possess?" 

"Whatever  he  possesses  and  will  possess !" 

"And  that  between  you  there  shall  be  neither 
falsehood,  treason,  nor  hate?" 

"Nor  hate!" 

"And  that  neither  of  you  shall  rob  the 
other?" 

"Never!" 

"And  that  you  are  brothers?" 

"Yes!" 

The  man  who  was  whizzing  around  like  a 
top  turned  quicker  and  quicker.  The  warriors 
assembled  and  followed  his  movements  with 
ever-increasing  interest. 

"Ao!"  cried  the  old  negro  once  more;  "but 
if  one  of  you  lie  to  the  other,  betray  him,  rob 
him,  poison  him,  or  kill  him,  he  shall  be  ac- 
cursed!" 

"He  shall  be  accursed!"  repeated  all  the 
warriors. 

"And  if  he  be  a  liar  and  contemplate  treason, 
he  shall  not  swallow  the  blood  of  his  brother, 
but  spit  it  out  before  our  eyes?" 

"Oh,  before  our  eyes!" 

"And  he  shall  die!" 


434     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"He  shall  die!" 

"Wobo  shall  tear  him  to  pieces!" 

"Wobo!" 

"Or  a  lion!" 

"Or  a  lion!" 

"An  elephant  shall  tread  him  down;  yes, 
and  a  rhinoceros  and  buffalo!" 

"Oh,  and  a  buffalo!"  repeated  the  chorus. 

"And  a  snake  shall  bite  him!" 

"A  snake!" 

"And  his  tongue  shall  turn  black!" 

"Black!" 

"And  his  eyes  shall  drop  out  of  his  head!" 

"Out  of  his  head!" 

"And  he  shall  walk  with  his  heels  in  the  air!" 

"Ha!  with  his  heels  in  the  air." 

Stasch  and  Kali  had  to  bite  their  lips  to  keep 
from  laughing  while  still  more  terrible  oaths 
were  being  repeated,  and  the  "top"  turned 
around  so  fast  that  their  eyes  could  not  follow 
its  movements.  The  old  negro  kept  this  up 
until  his  strength  was  exhausted  and  his  breath 
gave  out.  Then  he  sat  down  on  the  ground 
a  while  and  swayed  his  head  from  side  to  side. 
Soon  he  arose,  and  grasping  a  knife,  cut  Kali's 
arm  and  moistening  a  piece  of  the  goat's  liver 
with  his  blood,  pushed  it  into  M'Rua's  mouth, 
and  a  second  piece  moistened  with  the  blood  of 
the  king  he  pushed  into  Kali's  mouth.  Both 
men  swallowed  the  pieces  so  quickly  that  a 
rattling  noise  could  be  heard  in  their  throats 
and  their  eyes  nearly  started  out  of  their  heads ; 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     435 

then  they  held  each  other  by  the  hand,  as  a  sign 
of  true  and  eternal  friendship. 

Then  the  warriors  exclaimed  joyfully: 

"Both  men  have  swallowed  it!  Neither  of 
them  spit  it  out!  Therefore  they  are  sincere 
and  there  is  no  treachery  between  them." 

And  in  his  heart  Stasch  thanked  Kali  for 
having  represented  him  at  this  ceremony,  for 
he  felt  that  had  he  attempted  to  swallow  a  piece 
of  M'Rua  he  might  have  proved  himself  in- 
sincere and  a  traitor. 

Henceforth  the  little  travelers  were  in  no 
danger  of  having  snares  laid  for  them  or  of 
being  unexpectedly  attacked  by  the  savages ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  greatest  friendship  was  shown 
them,  and  they  were  almost  worshiped  as  gods. 
This  worship  increased  when  Stasch,  having 
noticed  a  great  fall  in  Linde's  barometer,  fore- 
told that  rain  was  coming,  and  on  that  very 
day  it  rained  quite  heavily,  as  heavily  as  if  the 
"massika,"  which  was  already  over,  was  trying 
to  squeeze  out  its  last  drops  on  the  earth.  The 
negroes  were  convinced  that  the  good  Msimu 
had  given  them  this  shower  of  rain,  and  their 
gratitude  to  Nell  was  boundless.  Stasch 
teased  her,  saying  that  now  she  was  the  idol 
of  the  negroes,  he  could  continue  the  journey 
alone,  and  would  leave  her  behind  in  the  negro 
village,  where  the  negroes  would  erect  a  small 
chapel  of  elephants'  tusks  for  her  and  would 
bring  her  beans  and  bananas  as  peace  offerings. 

But  Nell  felt  so  sure  of  his  attachment  to  her 


436     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

that  she  simply  reached  up  on  her  tip-toes  and 
whispered  in  his  ear:  "You  will  not  leave  me 
behind!"  Then  she  began  to  hop  with  joy,  de- 
claring that  as  the  negroes  were  so  kind  the 
journey  to  the  ocean  could  be  readily  and 
quickly  made.  All  this  took  place  in  front  of 
the  tent  before  the  assembled  multitude,  and 
when  old  M'Rua  saw  the  Msimu  happy,  he 
also  began  to  hop  as  high  as  his  crooked  legs 
would  let  him,  believing  that  in  this  way  he  was 
demonstrating  his  piety.  Following  his  ex- 
ample, the  chief  officers  began  to  dance,  and  so 
did  the  warriors,  the  women,  and  children,  and 
in  fact  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  hopped 
about  as  though  bereft  of  their  senses.  This 
exhibition  given  by  the  "idol"  amused  Stasch 
so  much  that  he  laughed  himself  almost  sick. 

On  the  following  night  he  earned  the  ever- 
lasting gratitude  of  the  pious  king  and  his 
subjects,  for  when  some  elephants  raided  the 
banana-fields,  he  rode  toward  them  on  King 
and  set  off  several  rockets  into  their  midst.  The 
panic  which  the  fiery  "snakes"  created  was  even 
greater  than  he  had  expected.  The  enormous 
animals,  dreadfully  frightened,  filled  the  whole 
jungle  with  the  sound  of  their  trumpeting  and 
their  stamping,  and  in  blind  haste  they  knocked 
one  another  down.  The  powerful  King  took 
great  pleasure  in  following  his  fleeing  com- 
rades, and  struck  at  them  unsparingly  with  his 
trunk  and  tusks.  After  such  a  night  it  would 
be  a  long  time  before  another  elephant  would 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     437 

dare  approach  the  banana  plantations  of  the 
village  ruled  over  by  old  M'Rua. 

The  dispersal  of  the  elephants  was  followed 
by  great  rejoicing  in  the  village,  and  the 
negroes  spent  the  whole  night  dancing  and 
drinking  millet-beer  and  palm-wine.  Kali  then 
learned  many  important  things  from  them,  for 
it  so  happened  that  several  of  them  had  come 
from  the  borders  of  a  large  sheet  of  water  sur- 
rounded by  mountains  and  lying  toward  the 
east.  This  proved  to  Stasch  that  the  lake, 
which  he  had  never  seen  mentioned  in  any  geog- 
raphy, really  existed,  and  that  if  they  con- 
tinued in  the  same  direction  they  would  meet 
the  Wa-himas.  From  the  fact  that  Mea  and 
Kali  spoke  almost  the  same  language,  he 
argued  that  "Wa-hima"  was  probably  a  local 
name,  and  that  the  tribes  living  on  the  banks 
of  the  Basso-Narok  belonged  to  the  Schilluks, 
whose  country  extended  from  the  Nile  far  away 
toward  the  east.  At  the  time  of  the  Mahdi 
these  places  were  still  unexplored. 

CHAPTER    XVIII 

THE  whole  population  escorted  the  good 
Msimu  quite  a  distance,  and  took  leave  of 
her  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  at  the  same  time 
earnestly  begging  her  to  condescend  to  visit 
M'Rua  once  again  and  occasionally  to  think 
of  his  people.  Stasch  considered  a  moment 
whether  he  should  tell  the  negroes  about  the 


438     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

gorge  where  he  had  hidden  the  goods  and  pro- 
visions left  him  by  Linde,  which — on  account 
of  the  lack  of  baggage-carriers — he  could  not 
take  with  him,  but  when  he  realized  that  the 
possession  of  such  riches  might  awaken  their 
covetousness,  cause  them  to  be  jealous,  disturb 
the  tranquillity  of  their  lives,  and  set  them  to 
fighting,  he  dismissed  this  idea;  but  he  shot  a 
large  buffalo  and  left  them  its  carcass  for  a 
parting  feast.  The  sight  of  such  a  quantity  of 
**Nyama"  satisfied  them. 

The  next  three  days  the  caravan  went 
through  a  barren  stretch  of  land.  The  days 
were  hot,  but  the  nights,  on  account  of  the  alti- 
tude, were  so  cold  that  Stasch  found  it  neces- 
sary to  have  Nell  covered  up  with  two  rugs. 
They  now  often  passed  over  narrow  mountain 
passes,  sometimes  barren  and  hilly,  sometimes 
covered  with  such  thick  vegetation  that  they 
had  difficulty  in  winding  their  waj'^  through 
them.  On  the  edges  of  these  ravines  they  saw 
large  monkeys,  and  here  and  there  also  lions 
and  panthers,  which  had  taken  refuge  in  the 
rocky  caves.  At  Kali's  request  Stasch  killed 
one  of  the  animals,  and  then  Kali  put  on  its 
skin  to  impress  the  negroes  with  the  fact  that 
they  had  to  reckon  with  a  person  of  kingly 
blood. 

On  a  tableland  beyond  the  narrow  passes 
negro  hamlets  again  appeared.  Sometimes 
they  were  in  groups,  sometimes  one  or  two 
days'  journey  apart.    As  a  protection  against 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     439 

lions  all  the  huts  were  surrounded  by  high 
fences,  so  interwoven  and  overrun  with  vines 
that  even  at  a  short  distance  they  appeared 
like  the  undergrowth  of  a  forest.  The  smoke 
rising  from  the  center  of  the  huts  was  the  only 
indication  that  they  were  inhabited.  The  cara- 
van was  as  welcome  everywhere  as  it  had  been 
in  M'Rua's  village,  first  exciting  fear  and  mis- 
trust, and  then  surprise,  admiration,  and  re- 
spect. Only  on  one  occasion  did  the  sight  of 
the  elephant,  Saba,  the  horses  and  the  white 
people  cause  an  entire  village  to  flee  to  the 
neighboring  forest,  and  therefore  the  travelers 
had  no  chance  of  making  themselves  known. 
But  not  a  single  spear  was  raised  against  them, 
for  if  the  hearts  of  the  negroes  are  not  filled  by 
Mohammedanism  with  hatred  and  treachery 
against  unbelievers,  they  are  apt  to  be  timid 
and  peaceful.  The  travelers  were  welcomed 
so  heartily  that  Kali  had  to  eat  a  piece  of  the 
village  king  and  the  latter  a  piece  of  Kali, 
whereupon  the  most  friendly  relations  were 
consummated.  To  the  good  Msimu  they  did 
homage  and  showed  their  reverence  by  offering 
fowls,  eggs,  and  honey,  brought  from  hollow 
blocks  of  wood,  which  had  been  fastened  in  the 
branches  of  a  large  tree  by  means  of  palm 
threads.  The  "Great  Man,"  the  ruler  of  the 
elephant,  the  thunder,  and  the  fiery  serpent, 
aroused  general  terror,  which  soon  gave  place 
to  gratitude  when  they  were  convinced  that  he 
was  as  generous  as  he  was  powerful.    In  places 


440     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

where  the  small  villages  were  numerous  the 
news  of  the  arrival  of  these  extraordinary 
guests  would  be  communicated  to  the  next  set- 
tlement by  drum  signals,  for  the  negroes  an- 
nounce everything  by  beating  the  drum. 
Sometimes  the  whole  population  advanced  to 
meet  them  with  friendly  greetings. 

In  one  village  of  nearly  a  thousand  inhab- 
itants the  potentate,  who  was  at  the  same  time 
sorcerer  and  king,  expressed  his  willingness  to 
show  them  the  great  "fetish,"  which  was  so 
much  reverenced  and  dreaded  that  the  people 
did  not  dare  to  approach  the  ebony  chapel  cov- 
ered with  rhinoceros  hide,  and  so  they  placed 
their  offerings  fifty  feet  distant.  The  king  told 
Stasch  and  Nell  that  this  fetish  had  lately 
fallen  from  the  moon,  that  it  was  white  and  had 
a  tail.  Stasch  immediately  explained  that  the 
moon  had  sent  it  down  at  the  request  of  the 
good  Msimu,  and  in  thus  speaking  he  did  not 
deviate  from  the  truth,  for  it  turned  out  that 
the  'great  fetish"  was  simply  one  of  the  kites 
which  he  had  sent  up  from  Linde  Mountain. 
He  and  Nell  felt  very  happy  when  they 
thought  the  same  wind  might  have  carried  the 
others  still  farther,  and  he  decided  to  continue 
sending  up  more  from  the  hill-tops.  That 
evening  he  made  a  kite  and  let  it  fly,  which  con- 
vinced the  negroes  that  the  good  Msimu  and 
the  white  man  had  also  come  down  from  the 
moon  and  were  gods  to  be  served  with  humility. 

Though  pleased  with  these  demonstrations 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     441 

of  humility  and  adoration,  Stasch  was  much 
more  dehghted  on  hearing  that  the  Basso- 
ISTarok  was  a  Httle  more  than  ten  days'  journey 
distant,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  village 
in  which  they  now  lived  often  received  salt 
from  that  country  in  return  for  palm-wine. 
The  village  king  had  even  heard  Fumba  spoken 
of  as  being  the  ruler  of  people  called  "Doko." 
Kali  said  that  the  neighbors  living  a  short  dis- 
tance away  gave  this  name  to  the  Wa-hima  and 
Samburu. 

The  news  that  a  great  war  was  now  raging 
on  the  banks  of  this  vast  sheet  of  water  was 
not  very  reassuring,  for  in  consequence  of  this 
it  would  be  necessary  to  reach  the  Basso-Narok 
by  marching  over  wild  mountains  and  through 
deep  ravines  infested  by  beasts  of  prey.  But 
Stasch  was  no  longer  afraid  of  such  beasts,  and 
he  preferred  the  wildest  mountains  to  the  low 
plains,  where  fever  lurked.  So  they  cour- 
ageously continued  their  journey. 

After  leaving  that  large  village  they  passed 
but  one  other,  a  small  settlement,  that  hung 
like  a  nest  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice.  Then 
the  country  became  mountainous,  the  hills  in 
places  being  separated  by  deep  ravines.  To 
the  east  rose  a  dark  chain  of  mountain-peaks, 
which,  seen  from  a  distance,  looked  quite  black. 
They  were  now  traveling  through  an  unex- 
plored stretch  of  country,  and  so  they  could  not 
tell  what  might  happen  to  them  before  they 
reached    Fumba's   land.      On    the    mountain 


442     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

slopes  there  were  plenty  of  bananas,  but  with 
the  exception  of  the  dragon-tree  and  acacias, 
which  stood  out  by  themselves,  the  trees  grew 
in  groups,  forming  small  groves.  The  travel- 
ers often  halted  in  these  proves  to  rest  and 
renew  their  strength,  as  well  as  to  enjoy  the 
abundant  shade. 

The  trees  swarmed  with  birds.  Many  dif- 
ferent species — large  rhinoceros  birds  {which 
Stasch  called  pepper-eaters),  roller,  starling, 
laughing-dove,  and  countless  beautiful  "ben- 
galis" — fluttered  in  the  thick  foliage  or  flew 
from  one  grove  to  another,  singly  or  in  groups, 
glittering  in  every  color  of  the  rainbow.  Many 
trees,  seen  from  a  distance,  appeared  to  be  cov- 
ered with  colored  flowers.  Nell  was  partic- 
ularly delighted  on  seeing  flycatchers^  and 
large  black  birds  with  bright  red  feathers  on 
their  breasts,  whose  voices  sounded  like  a  shep- 
herd's flute.^  Beautiful  bee-eaters,  pink  on  top 
and  pale-blue  underneath,  glistened  in  the  sun- 
light, catching  bees  and  dragonflies  while  on 
the  wing.  The  screams  of  green  parrots  could 
be  heard  from  the  tree-tops,  as  could  a  sound 
of  silver  bells,  the  mutual  greetings  of  small, 
gray-green  birds  hidden  in  the  foliage. 

Between  sunset  and  dawn  such  large  flocks 
of  native  sparrows^  flew  past  that  but  for  their 
chirping  and  the  flapping  of  their  wings  they 
might    have   been   mistaken   for   clouds,    and 

'  Terpsichore  viridis,  *  Laniarius  erythrogaster. 

^  Quelia  iEthiopica. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     443 

Stasch  would  have  thought  that  the  songsters 
who  made  the  trees  vocal  during  the  day  were 
humming  throughout  the  night. 

But  the  children  were  still  more  surprised 
and  delighted  with  some  other  birds  which  flew 
in  flocks  and  sang  delightfully.  Each  group 
consisted  of  five  or  six  females  and  one  male, 
with  glittering,  metal-like  feathers.  They 
alighted  on  acacias — the  male  perching  on  the 
top  of  the  tree,  while  the  females  sat  on  the 
lower  branches — and  after  the  first  notes,  which 
sounded  as  though  he  were  tuning  his  voice,  the 
male  began  to  sing,  while  the  females  listened 
in  silence.  When  he  had  finished  they  repeated 
in  unison  the  last  refrain  of  his  song.  After  a 
brief  pause  he  would  begin  again,  and  when  he 
had  ended  they  would  again  repeat  the  refrain ; 
then  the  flock  would  fly  in  an  airy,  wave-like 
line  to  the  next  acacia,  and  the  concert  of  solo- 
ist and  chorus  would  ring  out  once  more 
through  the  silence  of  noon.  The  children 
never  grew  tired  of  listening.  Nell  would 
catch  the  notes  and  join  the  chorus,  twittering 
the  last  tones  in  her  little  thin  voice,  which 
sounded  like  a  quick  repetition  of  the  sounds, 
"tui,  tui,  tui,  tui,  twi-ling-ting,  ting!"  Once, 
when  they  were  following  the  winged  song- 
sters from  one  tree  to  another,  the  children 
found  that  they  were  alone  and  nearly  a  kilo- 
meter away  from  their  camping-place,  for  they 
had  left  the  three  negroes  and  King  and  Saba 
behind.  Stasch,  who  had  planned  to  go  hunting. 


444      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

had  not  wanted  to  take  Saba  for  fear  he  might 
bark  and  frighten  the  game.  When  the  flock 
of  birds  had  flown  from  the  last  acacia  to  the 
other  side  of  the  broad  ravine,  the  young  boy 
stood  still  and  said: 

"Now  I  shall  take  you  back  to  King,  and 
then  I  shall  see  if  there  are  any  antelopes  or 
zebras  in  the  high  jungle,  for  Kali  says  we 
have  only  enough  smoked  meat  to  last  two 
days." 

"But  I  am  a  big  girl  now,"  answered  Nell, 
who  was  always  desirous  of  showing  that  she 
was  no  longer  a  little  girl,  "and  therefore  I  will 
return  by  myself.  The  camp  and  the  smoke 
can  easily  be  seen  from  here." 

"I  am  afraid  you  might  get  lost." 

"I  shall  not  get  lost.  In  the  high  jungle  I 
might,  but  here — look  how  low  the  grass  is." 

"Something  might  attack  you!" 

"You  said  that  lions  and  panthers  do  not 
hunt  their  prey  in  the  daytime.  Besides,  do 
you  hear  how  King  is  trumpeting  because  he 
is  lonesome  for  us?  What  lion  would  dare  to 
hunt  where  King's  voice  is  heard?" 

And  she  began  to  coax  and  in  fact  to  be  quite 
insistent  on  going. 

"No,  Stasch,  I  shall  go  alone.  Remember, 
I  am  grown  up!" 

Stasch  at  first  hesitated,  but  in  the  end  let 
her  have  her  own  way.  The  camp  and  the 
smoke  of  the  campfire  could  be  distinctly  seen, 
and  King,  who  was  lonesome  without  Nell, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     U5 

trumpeted  continually.  As  Nell  had  said, 
there  was  no  fear  of  getting  lost  in  the  low 
grass,  and  as  far  as  lions,  panthers,  and  hyenas 
were  concerned,  they  need  not  be  taken  into 
consideration,  for  these  beasts  hunt  their  prey 
only  at  night.  Besides,  he  knew  he  could  do 
nothing  to  please  the  girl  more  than  to  show 
her  that  he  no  longer  considered  her  a  child. 

"Well,  all  right,"  he  said;  "go  alone,  but 
walk  straight  ahead  and  do  not  stop  on  the 
way." 

"But  may  I  pick  these  flowers  myself?"  she 
asked,  pointing  to  a  bush  of  kousso,^  which  was 
covered  with  a  heavy  mass  of  pink  flowers. 

"Yes,  you  may!" 

With  these  words  he  turned  around,  and 
after  taking  the  precaution  of  showing  her  the 
group  of  trees  from  which  the  smoke  issued 
and  from  which  King's  trumpeting  was  heard, 
he  disappeared  into  the  high  jungle  at  the  edge 
of  the  ravine. 

He  had  taken  scarcely  a  hundred  steps  when 
he  felt  exceedingly  anxious.  "It  was  very 
stupid  of  me,"  he  thought,  "to  let  Nell  go  alone 
in  the  heart  of  Africa — how  foolish,  foolish! 
She  is  still  a  child !  I  should  not  have  left  her 
side  even  for  an  instant  unless  King  had  been 
with  her.  Who  knows  what  may  happen? 
Who  knows  whether  there  is  not  a  snake  under 

*  Brojera  Anthelmitica  is  a  beautiful  plant,  the  seeds  of  which 
are  a  valuable  remedy  for  tapeworm.  It  is  mostly  found  in 
Southern  Abyssinia. 


446     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

that  pinkish  shrubbery,  or  large  monkeys 
might  come  from  this  narrow  pass  and  carry 
her  off  or  bite  her.  Heaven  help  me!  I  have 
done  a  most  foolish  thing!" 

Instead  of  being  only  uneasy,  he  now  became 
angry  with  himself  and  terribly  frightened. 
Without  reasoning  further,  he  turned  back,  as 
though  with  a  foreboding  of  evil.  He  stepped 
quickly  to  one  side,  and,  as  a  matter  of  habit, 
formed  in  his  daily  hunting  expeditions,  he  held 
his  gun  ready  to  shoot  and  glided  through  the 
prickly  mimosas  as  silently  as  a  panther  creep- 
ing upon  an  antelope  herd  at  night.  Then  he 
thrust  his  head  above  the  tall  shrubbery — and 
stood  there  as  if  petrified. 

Nell  was  standing  under  the  kousso  bush 
with  hands  extended ;  the  pinkish  flowers,  which 
she  had  dropped  in  her  dismay,  lay  at  her  feet, 
and  about  twenty  feet  away  a  large  golden- 
yellow  animal  was  creeping  toward  her  through 
the  low  grass. 

Stasch  distinctly  saw  its  green  eyes  fixed  on 
the  chalk-white  face  of  the  girl,  he  saw  its 
bowed  head  and  flattened  ears,  its  upraised  paw 
stretched  forward,  expressing  its  waiting  and 
stealthy  attitude,  its  long  body  and  even  longer 
tail,  the  end  of  which  was  moving  with  an 
almost  imperceptible  cat-like  movement.  An- 
other moment — a  spring — and  it  would  have 
been  the  last  of  Nell ! 

At  this  sight  the  boy,  accustomed  as  he  was 
to  danger,  at  once  realized  that  if  he  did  not  im- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     447 

mediately  regain  his  composure  and  presence 
of  mind,  if  he  were  to  shoot  and  merely  wound 
the  animal,  no  matter  how  badly,  the  girl 
would  be  doomed.  Controlling  himself,  and 
stimulated  by  these  thoughts,  his  arms  and  legs 
suddenly  became  as  rigid  as  steel.  Thanks  to 
his  habit  of  observation,  he  noticed  a  dark  spot 
near  the  animal's  ear,  took  aim,  and  pulled  the 
trigger. 

At  the  same  instant  came  the  report  of  the 
shot,  a  scream  from  Nell,  and  a  dreadful  growl. 
Stasch  sprang  in  front  of  Nell,  and  while  pro- 
tecting her  with  his  own  body  took  aim  again. 

The  second  shot  was  quite  unnecessary.  The 
terrible  cat  lay  stretched  out  like  a  rag,  its  nose 
on  the  ground,  its  paws  in  the  grass,  and  it 
never  even  twitched.  The  bullet,  an  explosive 
one,  had  torn  away  the  entire  back  of  the  head 
and  neck,  above  which  the  eyes  glared  and  the 
bloody,  torn  ganglia  of  the  brain  could  be  seen. 

The  little  huntsman  and  Nell  stood  for  a 
moment  side  by  side,  looking  first  at  the  slain 
beast,  then  at  each  other — speechless.  Then 
a  strange  thing  happened.  Stasch,  whose  self- 
possession  and  calmness  would  have  astonished 
the  most  experienced  marksman,  suddenly 
turned  pale,  his  legs  began  to  tremble,  tears 
started  from  his  eyes,  he  put  his  hands  to  his 
head  and  repeated  over  and  over  again: 

"Oh,  Nell,  Nell,  if  I  had  not  turned  back!" 

Here  he  was  seized  with  terror,  a  terror  bor- 
dering on  despair,  and  every  nerve  in  his  body 


448     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

twitched  and  trembled  as  if  he  had  an  attack  of 
ague.  After  his  tremendous  mental  and  bodily- 
tension  there  came  a  moment  of  weakness  and 
lassitude.  He  imagined  he  saw  the  terrible 
beast  lying  in  a  dark  cave  tearing  Nell's  body- 
to  pieces  with  its  bloody  mouth.  And  indeed 
this  might  really  have  happened — it  would 
have  happened  had  he  not  turned  back.  A 
moment,  a  second  more,  and  it  would  have  been 
too  late.  These  thoughts  were  too  much  for 
him  to  bear. 

The  result  was  that  Nell,  who  was  the  first 
to  recover  from  the  fright,  was  obliged  to  com- 
fort him.  The  dear  little  child  threw  both  her 
small  arms  around  his  neck  and  wept,  crying 
out  as  loudly  as  though  trying  to  awaken  him 
out  of  a  sound  sleep. 

"StaschI  Stasch!  Nothing  has  happened  to 
me!  Only  look  and  see!  Nothing  has  hap- 
pened to  me!    Little  Stasch!    Dear  Stasch!" 

It  was  some  time  before  Stasch  recovered  his 
composure  and  calmness.  Soon  after  Kali 
arrived  on  the  scene;  he  had  heard  a  shot  near 
the  camp,  and  knowing  that  Bwana  Kubwa 
never  shot  in  vain,  he  immediately  brought  a 
horse  to  carry  away  the  game.  But  when  the 
young  negro  saw  the  slain  beast  he  suddenly 
drew  back  and  his  face  became  ashen-gray. 

"Wobo!"  he  screamed. 

Not  until  now  did  the  children  approach  the 
stiffening  carcass,  for  Stasch  as  yet  had  no 
definite  idea  of  the  kind  of  beast  he  had  shot. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      449 

At  first  sight  the  boy  thought  it  might  be  a 
very  large  "serval,"^  but  on  taking  a  nearer 
view  he  knew  that  he  was  mistaken,  for  the 
dead  beast  was  even  larger  than  a  leopard.  Its 
golden-yellow  skin  was  dotted  with  chestnut- 
brown  spots;  but  its  head  was  narrower  than 
that  of  a  leopard  and  resembled  somewhat  that 
of  a  wolf ;  its  legs  were  longer,  its  paws  broader, 
and  its  eyes  enormous.  One  of  them  had  been 
completely  torn  away  by  the  bullet ;  the  second 
still  stared  at  the  children  as  if  out  of  a  chasm, 
immovable,  frightful.  Stasch  felt  sure  that  it 
was  some  species  of  panther  which  zoologists 
knew  as  little  about  as  geographers  did  of  the 
Basso-Narok  Sea. 

Kali  continued  to  gaze  with  terror  at  the 
outstretched  animal,  repeating  in  an  under- 
tone, as  if  afraid  to  awaken  it: 

"Wobo!—  The  Great  Man  has  killed  a 
wobo!" 

But  Stasch,  turning  to  the  girl,  laid  his  hand 
on  her  little  head,  as  if  he  wanted  to  make  sure 
that  wobo  had  not  stolen  her,  and  said: 

"Do  you  see,  Nell,  do  you  see  that  even  if 
you  were  quite  grown  up,  you  ought  not  to  go 
alone  in  the  jungle?" 

"You  are  right,  Stasch,"  answered  Nell  with 
a  penitent  expression.  "But  may  I  go  with 
you  or  with  King?" 

"Tell  me,  how  did  this  happen?  Did  you 
hear  it  approach  you?" 

'  A  grey  animal  the  size  of  a  lynx,  a  species  of  tiger-cat. 


450     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"No.  A  large  golden  fly  flew  out  of  the 
flowers,  so  I  turned  around  toward  it,  and  then 
I  saw  the  beast  just  as  it  was  creeping  out  from 
the  ravine." 

"And  what  happened  next?" 

"It  stood  still  and  began  to  look  at  me." 

"Did  it  look  at  you  long?" 

"Long!  It  was  only  when  I  dropped  the 
flowers  and  covered  my  face  with  my  hands  to 
protect  myself  that  it  began  to  creep  up " 

Stasch  knew  that  if  Nell  had  been  a  negress 
she  would  have  been  carried  off  at  once,  and 
that  she  owed  her  deliverance  to  the  surprise 
of  the  animal,  which  was  disconcerted  for  a 
moment  on  the  first  sight  of  a  creature  so  dif- 
ferent from  the  people  he  had  seen. 

Again  the  boy  shivered  from  head  to  foot. 

"Thank  heaven!  Thank  heaven  that  I 
turned  back!" 

Then  he  inquired  further: 

"What  were  you  thinking  of  at  that  mo- 
ment?" 

"I  wanted  to  call  you,  and — did  not  dare — 
but " 

"But— what?" 

"But  I  thought  that  you  would  certainly  de- 
fend me.    I  don't  know " 

At  these  words  she  threw  her  arm  around  his 
neck  once  more,  and  he  began  to  stroke  her 
hair. 

"Are  you  not  afraid  now?" 

"No." 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     451 

"My  little  Msimu!  my  Msimu!  You  see 
now  what  Africa  is!" 

"Yes.  But  you  will  kill  all  the  vicious  an- 
imals." 

"Yes,  so  I  will!" 

Both  took  another  look  at  the  heast  of  prey. 
Stasch,  who  wished  to  keep  its  skin  as  a  sou- 
venir, told  Kali  to  skin  it,  but  the  negro  was 
afraid  that  a  second  wobo  might  appear  from 
out  of  the  ravine,  and  he  begged  not  to  be  left 
there  alone,  and  when  asked  whether  he  was 
really  more  afraid  of  a  wobo  than  he  was  of  a 
lion  he  said: 

"A  lion  roars  in  the  night  and  does  not  jump 
over  a  fence,  but  a  wobo  jumps  over  it  in  broad 
dajdight,  kills  many  negroes  in  the  very  heart 
of  the  village,  and  then  steals  one  and  eats  him. 
Neither  a  spear  nor  a  bow  is  any  protection 
against  a  wobo,  for  a  wobo  can't  be  killed." 

"Nonsense,"  said  Stasch;  "look  at  this  one; 
isn't  it  quite  dead?" 

"White  man  can  kill  a  wobo,  but  not  black 
man!"  answered  Kali. 

At  last  they  took  a  rope  and  tied  the  enor- 
mous cat  to  the  horse,  and  the  latter  dragged  it 
toward  the  camp. 

But  Stasch  was  unable  to  keep  the  skin,  be- 
cause King,  who  apparently  guessed  that  the 
wobo  had  attempted  to  steal  his  little  mistress, 
flew  into  such  a  rage  that  even  Stasch  was  un- 
able to  pacify  him.  Grasping  the  slain  beast 
with  his  trunk,  he  threw  it  twice  into  the  air. 


452     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

then  he  began  to  beat  it  against  a  tree,  and  at 
last  stamped  it  under  his  feet  until  it  was  a 
pulpy,  formless  mass.  Stasch  was  only  able 
to  save  its  teeth,  which  with  some  other  parts 
of  its  head  he  had  laid  down  in  the  path  of  a 
swarm  of  ants,  and  an  hour  later  they  had 
cleaned  up  the  bones  so  thoroughly  that  there 
was  not  a  sign  of  flesh  or  of  blood  to  be  seen. 

CHAPTER   XIX 

FOUR  days  later  Stasch  made  a  halt  on  a 
plateau  that,  although  smaller  and  nar- 
rower than  Linde  Mountain,  bore  a  great 
resemblance  to  it.  That  very  evening  Saba 
attacked  a  large  baboon  as  he  was  playing 
with  the  remains  of  a  kite — the  second  of  those 
which  the  children  had  sent  up  before  they 
started  to  travel  toward  the  ocean — and  after 
a  hard  fight  bit  him  to  death.  Stasch  and  Nell, 
profiting  by  the  halt  to  rest  themselves,  de- 
cided to  continue  making  kites,  but  to  send 
them  up  only  when  a  strong  monsoon  was  blow- 
ing from  the  west  toward  the  east.  Stasch  cal- 
culated that  if  but  one  of  them  were  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  Europeans  or  Arabians  it  would 
certainly  excite  unusual  interest,  and  might  be 
the  means  of  a  special  expedition  sent  out  to 
seek  them.  That  his  message  might  stand  a 
better  chance  of  being  understood,  he  wrote  on 
the  kites  not  only  in  English  and  French,  but 
also  in  Arabic,  wliich  was  not  difficult  for  him, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      453 

as  he  was  familiar  with  that  language.  Shortly 
after  they  broke  up  camp  here  Kali  said  that 
in  the  chain  of  mountains  which  they  saw 
toward  the  east  he  recognized  many  peaks  as 
those  which  surround  the  large  sheet  of  dark 
water,  the  Basso-Narok,  but  he  was  not  quite 
positive,  because  the  mountains  assume  differ- 
ent shapes,  according  to  the  position  of  the  ob- 
server. After  having  passed  a  fairly  broad 
valley  covered  with  kousso  bushes,  that  re- 
sembled a  large  pink  sea,  they  came  upon  a 
solitary  negro  hut,  inside  of  which  were  two 
hunters,  one  of  whom  was  ill,  having  been  bit- 
ten by  a  guinea- worm. ^  Both  were  so  savage 
and  stupid,  so  dismayed  at  the  sight  of  these 
unexpected  guests,  and  so  certain  that  they  in- 
tended to  kill  them,  that  at  first  they  would 
give  no  information.  It  took  a  few  strips  of 
smoked  meat  to  loosen  the  tongue  of  the  sick 
man,  who,  besides  being  ill,  was  half  starved, 
as  his  comrade  allowed  him  but  little  food. 
From  him  they  learned  that  one  day's  jour- 
ney farther  on  there  were  some  scattered 
hamlets,  which  were  governed  by  two  chiefs 
independent  of  each  other,  and  that  farther 
on,  behind  a  steep  mountain,  lay  the  Fumba 
country,  which  extends  from  this  great  sheet 
of  water  toward  the  west  and  south.  When 
Stasch  heard  this  he  felt  that  a  great  load 
had  been  lifted  from  him,  and  he  took  cour- 

'  Filaria  Medinensis,  a  thin  string-worm,  from  an  inch  to  a  yard 
in  length  ;  its  bite  sometimes  causes  gangrene. 


454     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

age  once  more.  For  were  they  not  near  the 
boundary  of  the  land  belonging  to  the  Wa- 
hima  tribe? 

It  was,  of  course,  hard  to  tell  how  they  would 
find  the  remainder  of  the  journey,  but  in  any 
event  the  boy  had  reason  to  hope  that  it  would 
not  be  more  fatiguing  or  longer  than  the  ter- 
rible ride  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile  to  the 
plain  where  they  now  were,  which  distance  he 
had  accomplished,  thanks  to  his  wonderful 
quickness  of  action,  and  during  which  time  he 
had  saved  Nell  from  death.  He  knew  that  the 
Wa-hima  would  welcome  them  most  hospitably 
for  Kali's  sake,  and  would  assist  them  in  every 
way.  Besides,  he  was  accustomed  to  negroes, 
and  knew  how  to  manage  them;  so  he  felt 
pretty  sure  he  could  get  along  with  them  even 
without  Kali. 

"Do  you  know,"  he  said  to  Nell,  "that  we 
have  already  covered  more  than  half  the  dis- 
tance between  Fashoda  and  the  sea,  and  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  our  journey  we  may  meet 
more  savage  negroes,  but  we  are  free  from 
the  Dervishes?" 

"I  prefer  negroes,"  answered  the  girl. 

"Yes,  as  long  as  you  pass  for  an  idol.  I 
was  stolen  from  Fayoum  along  with  a  girl 
called  Nell,  and  now  I  am  bringing  a  Msimu 
home.  I  shall  tell  my  father  and  Mr.  Rawli- 
son  that  they  are  not  to  call  you  by  any  other 
name." 

Her  eyes  began  to  twinkle  merrily. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      ^55 

"Perhaps  we  shall  see  our  papas  in  Mom- 
basa!" 

''Perhaps.  If  it  were  not  for  the  war  raging 
on  the  banks  of  the  Basso-Narok,  we  might 
accomplish  our  journey  sooner.  How  provok- 
ing that  Fumba  should  go  to  war  just  at  this 
time!" 

At  these  words  he  beckoned  to  Kali. 

"Kali,  has  the  sick  negro  heard  anything 
about  a  war?" 

"Yes.  There  is  a  great,  a  very  great  war 
between  Fumba  and  Samburu." 

"Then  what  will  happen?  How  can  we 
travel  through  the  Samburu  land?" 

"The  Samburu  will  run  away  from  the  great 
man,  from  King  and  from  Kali." 

"And  from  you?" 

"And  from  Kali,  for  Kali  has  a  gun  that 
thunders  and  kills." 

Stasch  began  to  consider  what  part  he  would 
have  to  take  in  the  war  between  the  Wa-hima 
and  Samburu  tribes;  he  determined  that  the 
war  should  not  interfere  with  their  journey. 
He  knew  that  their  arrival  would  be  a  great 
surprise,  and  that  it  would  give  Fumba  the 
upper  hand.  Therefore,  all  he  need  do  would 
be  to  turn  the  prospective  victory  to  his  own 
advantage. 

On  arriving  in  the  small  villages  of  which 
the  sick  hunter  had  made  mention,  they  made 
further  inquiries  in  regard  to  the  war.  And 
the  news  became  more  and  more  reliable,  but  at 


456     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  same  time  unfavorable  to  Fumba.  The 
small  travelers  learned  that  he  was  on  the  de- 
fensive, and  that  the  Samburu,  led  by  Mamba, 
their  king,  had  taken  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  Wa-hima's  country  and  captured  a  great 
many  cows.  It  was  said  that  the  seat  of  war 
was  on  the  south  bank  of  the  large  sheet  of 
water,  where  Fumba's  great  "boma"^  was  situ- 
ated, on  a  high  and  broad  mountain. 

This  news  made  Kali  feel  very  sad.  He 
begged  Stasch  to  travel  as  fast  as  he  could  over 
the  mountain  which  separated  them  from  the 
district  that  was  menaced  by  the  war,  and  he 
promised  to  find  a  road  over  which  they  could 
lead  King  as  well  as  the  horses.  They  were 
now  in  a  country  with  which  Kali  was  very 
familiar,  and  he  recognized  the  mountain  peaks 
he  had  known  since  childhood. 

But  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  cross  the  moun- 
tain, and  if  they  had  not  been  assisted  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  last  village,  whose  good  favor 
they  had  won  with  gifts,  they  would  have  had 
to  find  another  road  for  King.  But  these 
people  knew  the  ravines  on  this  side  of  the 
mountain  better  than  Kali  did,  and  after  a 
wearisome  journey  of  two  days  and  two  nights, 
during  which  they  suffered  greatly  from  the 
cold,  they  were  eventually  able  to  lead  the  cara- 
van over  a  narrow  pass  into  a  valley  which  from 
its  appearance  seemed  to  belong  to  the  land  of 
the  Wa-himas. 

'  The  same  as  the  zareba  in  the  Soudan.     A  large  boma  may 
also  be  a  kind  of  castle  or  fortified  camp. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     457 

Stasch  made  a  halt  to  take  a  rest  in  this  bar- 
ren valley,  which  was  enclosed  by  shrubbery, 
but  Kali,  who  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  on 
horseback  to  reconnoiter  in  the  direction  of 
his  father's  boma,  which  lay  a  day's  journey 
distant,  started  off  that  very  night.  Stasch  and 
Nell  anxiously  awaited  his  return  for  a  whole 
following  day  and  night,  and  they  felt  con- 
vinced that  his  strength  must  have  given  out, 
or  that  he  must  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy.  At  last  he  reappeared  on  his 
weary  and  panting  horse,  he  himself  so  tired 
and  depressed  that  it  made  one  sad  to  see 
him. 

He  prostrated  himself  at  Stasch's  feet  and 
begged  him  to  come  to  the  rescue. 

"Oh,  Great  Man,"  he  said,  "the  Samburu 
have  conquered  Fumba's  warriors  and  killed 
several  of  them,  and  those  they  have  not  killed 
they  have  driven  out;  and  they  are  besieging 
Fumba  in  the  great  'boma'  on  Boko  Moun- 
tain. Fumba  and  his  warriors  have  nothing  to 
eat  on  the  mountain  and  will  perish  if  the  Great 
Man  does  not  kill  Mamba  and  all  the  Sam- 
burus." 

While  begging,  he  clasped  Stasch's  knees; 
the  latter  frowned  and  considered  what  he 
should  do,  for,  as  always,  Nell  was  his  first  con- 
sideration. 

At  length  he  asked,  "Where  are  the  warriors 
of  Fumba  whom  the  Samburus  have  dis- 
persed?" 


458     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Kali  found  them — and  they  will  soon  be 
here." 

"How  many  of  them  are  there?" 

The  young  negro  moved  his  fingers  and  toes 
several  times,  but  apparently  he  could  not  give 
the  exact  number,  for  the  simple  reason  that  he 
could  not  count  further  than  ten,  and  that  every 
higher  number  was  "wengi,"  which  means 
"many." 

"When  they  come,  put  yourself  at  their  head 
and  hasten  to  the  relief  of  your  father,"  said 
Stasch. 

"They  are  afraid  of  the  Samburus  and  would 
not  go  with  Kali,  but  they  would  go  with  the 
Great  Man  and  kill  wengi,  wengi  Samburus." 

Stasch  thought  the  matter  over  once  more. 

"No,"  he  said  at  last.  "I  can  neither  take 
Bibi  to  the  battle  nor  leave  her  behind  alone; 
nothing  would  tempt  me  to  do  it." 

Thereupon  Kali  arose,  folded  his  hands,  and 
began  repeating  over  and  over  again: 

"Lunla!     Lunla!     Lunla!" 

"What  do  you  mean  by  Lunla?"  asked 
Stasch. 

"A  great  boma  for  the  wives  of  the  Wa- 
himas  and  the  Samburus,"  answered  the  young 
negro. 

And  he  began  to  tell  quite  wonderful  tales. 
For  Fumba  and  Mamba  had  been  at  war  with 
each  other  for  several  years.  They  had  de- 
stroyed each  other's  plantations  and  stolen  each 
other's  cattle.    But  on  the  south  bank  of  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     459 

lake  there  was  a  place  called  Lunla,  in  which — 
even  during  the  hardest  battles — the  women  of 
both  tribes  assembled  to  hold  their  market. 
This  place  was  sacred.  The  war  only  raged 
between  the  men;  the  fortunes  of  war  did  not 
affect  the  destiny  of  the  women,  who  found  a 
safe  refuge  in  Lunla,  their  spacious  market- 
place, which  was  enclosed  by  earthworks.  Dur- 
ing these  disturbances  many  of  them  fled  there 
with  their  children  and  possessions.  Some 
came  from  even  the  most  distant  villages, 
bringing  smoked  meat,  beans,  millet,  manioc, 
and  various  other  kinds  of  provisions.  The 
warriors  were  not  allowed  to  battle  nearer 
Lunla  than  within  earshot  of  the  crowing  of  a 
cock,  and  they  were  not  allowed  within  the 
earthworks  which  encircled  the  market-place. 
They  could  only  stand  in  front  of  the  wall,  and 
then  the  women  handed  them  down  provisions 
hj  means  of  long  bamboo  rods.  This  was  an 
old-fashioned  custom  respected  by  both  parties. 
But  the  victorious  side  always  tried  to  hold  the 
road  to  Lunla  so  as  to  prevent  the  vanquished 
from  approaching  near  enough  to  the  sacred 
place  to  hear  the  cock  crow. 

"Oh  Great  Man,"  begged  Kali  once  more, 
as  he  clasped  Stasch's  knee,  "the  Great  Man 
will  bring  Bibi  to  Lunla,  and  he  will  take  King 
and  Kali  and  the  gun  and  the  fiery  snakes  and 
he  will  conquer  the  wicked  Samburus." 

Stasch  believed  the  young  negro's  story,  for 
he  had  heard  that  in  many  parts  of  Africa 


460     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

women  are  not  affected  by  the  wars.  He  re- 
membered that  a  young  German  missionary 
in  Port  Said  had  once  told  him  that  the  most 
warlike  tribe  of  Masai,  living  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  great  Kilima  Njaro  Mountain,  followed 
this  custom,  and  that  consequently  the  wives  of 
the  warriors  on  either  side  could  pass  freely  and 
unmolested  to  the  market-place  agreed  upon 
without  fear  of  being  attacked/  Stasch  was 
much  pleased  that  this  custom  still  prevailed  on 
the  banks  of  the  Basso-Narok,  for  he  felt  con- 
fident that  Nell  would  not  be  in  any  danger 
from  the  war.  He  also  concluded  to  break  up 
camp  at  once  and  take  Nell  to  Lunla,  which 
he  was  particularly  desirous  of  doing,  be- 
cause a  further  journey  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion until  the  war  was  over,  and  the  help  of 
both  the  Wa-himas  and  the  Samburus  was 
necessary. 

Accustomed  as  he  was  to  make  quick  de- 
cisions, Stasch  knew  at  once  what  to  do.  To 
release  Fumba,  to  conquer  the  Samburus,  to 
prevent  the  Wa-himas  from  taking  too  bloody 
a  revenge,  to  command  peace  and  reunite  the 
antagonists  seemed  to  him  absolutely  neces- 
sary, not  only  for  his  own  sake,  but  also  for 
the  negroes.  "It  must  be  accomplished  and  it 
shall  be!"  he  said  to  himself,  and  in  the  mean- 
while, to  pacify  Kali,  for  whom  he  felt  much 
sympathy,  he  explained  to  him  that  he  by  no 
means  refused  his  assistance. 

'  An  actual  fact. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     461 

"How  far  is  it  from  here  to  Lunla?"  he 
asked. 

"Half  a  day's  journey." 

"Then  Hsten.  We  will  take  Bibi  there  at 
once;  then  I  will  ride  on  King  and  drive  the 
Samburus  from  your  father's  boma.  You  will 
ride  with  me  and  fight  against  them." 

"Kali  will  kill  them  with  the  gun." 

His  despair  changed  to  joy  at  once;  he  be- 
gan to  hop,  to  laugh,  and  to  thank  Stasch  with 
as  much  enthusiasm  as  if  the  victory  were 
already  won.  Further  outbursts  of  gratitude 
and  joy  were  interrupted  by  the  arrival  of  the 
warriors  he  had  collected  during  his  recon- 
noitering,  and  whom  he  had  commanded  to 
appear  before  the  white  man.  There  were 
about  thirty  men,  armed  with  shiek^.s  of  hip- 
potamus  skins,  darts,  bows,  and  knives 

On  their  heads  they  wore  feathers,  manes  of 
baboons,  and  bouquets  of  ferns.  On  beholding 
an  elephant  in  the  service  of  a  human  being,  on 
seeing  Saba  and  the  hori>es,  they  were  seized 
with  fear  and  surprise,  just  as  was  the 
case  with  the  negr-oe^  in  the  villages  through 
which  the  caravar  had  previously  passed. 
But  Kali  had  J  gVeady  told  them  that  they 
would  see  a  ^^rr>od  Msimu  and  a  powerful 
man,  "who  r>ds  lions,  who  killed  a  wobo, 
of  whom  ^  *h  elephant  is  afraid,  who  breaks 
rocks,  m^iies  fiery  snakes  rise  in  the  air, 
etc.  So  mstead  of  running  away,  they  formed 
in  a  long  line  and  stood  there  silent  and  aston- 


y 


A 


462     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ished,  the  whites  of  their  eyes  gleaming,  for 
they  were  still  uncertain  whether  they  ought 
to  kneel  down  or  fall  on  their  faces,  but  they 
firmly  believed  that,  with  the  help  of  these 
extraordinary  beings,  the  triumph  of  the  Sam- 
burus  would  soon  be  at  an  end.  Stasch  rode  on 
the  elephant  through  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
standing  warriors  like  the  leader  of  an  army 
holding  a  review ;  then  he  made  Kali  repeat  his 
promise  to  release  Fumba,  and  gave  orders  to 
break  camp  for  Lunla. 

Kali  rode  in  front  with  several  warriors  to 
tell  the  assembled  wives  of  both  tribes  that  they 
were  to  have  rarer  good  fortune  than  ever  be- 
fore, in  seeing  the  "good  Msimu,"  who  was  com- 
ing to  them  riding  on  an  elephant.  This  was  such 
an  extraordinary  occurrence  that  even  those 
women  of  xhe  Wa-hima  tribe  who  recognized 
Kali  as  the  lost  heir  to  the  throne  thought  that 
the  king's  young  son  was  trying  to  make  fun 
of  them,  and  they  were  surprised  that  he  at- 
tempted to  joke  when  the  whole  tribe  and 
Fumba  were  in  such  desperate  straits.  But 
several  hours  later,  when  an  enormous  elephant 
with  a  white  palanquin  on  Jtjs  back  was  seen 
approaching  the  earthworks,  tfrey  were  nearly 
beside  themselves  with  joy,  an^  \ welcomed  the 
good  Msimu  with  such  shouv^i-  and  howls 
that  Stasch  mistook  the  uproar  i\  •  outbursts 
of  hatred,  especially  as  these  negroes  were 
so  hideously  ugly  that  they  looked  like 
witches. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     463 

But  this  was  their  way  of  showing  their  great 
admiration.  When  Nell's  tent  was  set  up  in 
a  corner  of  the  market-place,  in  the  shade  of 
two  trees  with  luxuriant  foliage,  the  Wa-hima 
and  the  Samburu  women  adorned  it  with  gar- 
lands and  wreaths  of  flowers ;  then  they  brought 
such  a  quantity  of  food  that  it  was  not  only 
enough  for  the  goddess  herself,  but  also  enough 
to  last  her  retinue  for  a  month.  The  delighted 
women  even  bowed  before  Mea,  who  was 
adorned  with  pink  percale  and  several  strings 
of  blue  glass  beads,  and  for  this  reason,  and 
also  because  she  was  Msimu's  servant,  she 
seemed  to  them  to  be  of  much  higher  rank  than 
an  ordinary  negress. 

Nasibu,  on  account  of  his  youth,  was  also 
allowed  within  the  enclosure,  and  he  imme- 
diately profited  by  the  offerings  brought  to 
Nell,  and  applied  himself  so  conscientiously  to 
eating  that  an  hour  later  his  httle  stomach  re- 
sembled an  African  war-drum. 


CHAPTER   XX 

A  FTER  resting  a  little  while  before  the  earth- 
■^*-  works  of  Lunla,  Stasch  started  off  before 
sunset  with  Kali  at  the  head  of  three  hundred 
warriors  to  go  to  Fumba's  boma,  for  he  wanted 
to  attack  the  Samburus  by  night,  reckoning 
that  in  the  darkness  the  "fiery  snakes"  would 
make  a  greater  impression.  The  journey  from 
Lunla  to  Boko  Mountain,  on  which  Fumba  was 


464     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

besieged,  would  take  nine  hours,  counting  the 
halt  for  rest,  so  that  they  would  arrive  before 
the  fortress  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Stasch  made  the  warriors  halt  and  commanded 
them  to  be  silent ;  then  he  began  to  inspect  the 
situation.  The  summit  of  the  hill  on  which  the 
defenders  were  waiting  in  ambush  was  wrapped 
in  darkness,  but  the  Samburus  kept  several 
campfires  burning.  Their  light  illuminated  the 
steep  sides  of  the  cliff  and  the  giant  trees  grow- 
ing at  its  feet.  And  now  from  a  distance  could 
be  heard  the  hollow  sound  of  kettle-drums,  as 
well  as  the  shouts  and  singing  of  the  warriors, 
who  apparently  were  not  sparing  of  the  pombe^ 
while  celebrating  their  final  victorj^  Stasch, 
at  the  head  of  his  men,  advanced  still  further, 
so  that  at  last  he  was  not  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  from  the  last  campfires.  There  seemed  to 
be  no  one  on  guard  anywhere,  and  the  moon- 
less night  made  it  impossible  for  the  savages 
to  see  the  elephant,  which  was  also  hidden  by 
the  foliage.  Stasch,  sitting  on  King's  neck, 
gave  his  final  orders  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  and 
made  a  sign  to  Kali  to  set  off  one  of  the 
rockets. 

A  red  streak  spluttered,  shot  high  up  into  the 
sky,  and  fell  in  a  shower  of  red,  blue,  and 
golden  stars.  Then  every  voice  ceased  and  a 
moment  of  silence  ensued.  A  few  seconds 
later  two  more  fiery  snakes  ascended,  making 
a  crackling  sound,  and  this  time  directed  more 

'  An  intoxicating  beer  made  from  millet. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     465 

horizontally  toward  the  Samburus'  camp;  at 
the  same  time  there  were  heard  King's  trum- 
peting and  the  howls  of  three  hundred  Wa- 
himas,  who,  armed  with  assegais/  clubs,  and 
knives,  came  up  on  the  run.  The  battle  that 
ensued  was  all  the  more  terrible  because  it  took 
place  in  absolute  darkness,  for  in  the  excite- 
ment all  the  campfires  had  been  extinguished 
and  trampled  down.  From  the  first  moment 
that  the  Samburus  saw  the  fiery  snakes  they 
were  panic-stricken.  What  had  taken  place 
was  absolutely  beyond  their  comprehension. 
They  only  knew  that  some  sort  of  terrible 
creatures  had  overtaken  them  and  that  fearful 
and  inevitable  destruction  threatened  them. 
Most  of  them  fled  before  the  spears  and  clubs 
of  the  Wa-himas  touched  them.  Over  a  hun- 
dred warriors  whom  Mamba  had  gathered 
around  him  defended  themselves  despairingly, 
but  when  by  the  light  of  the  shots  they  saw  a 
giant  animal  and  on  it  a  being  dressed  in  white, 
and  heard  the  reports  of  the  gun  which  Kali  in- 
cessantly fired,  they  lost  courage. 

When  Fumba,  who  was  on  the  mountain, 
saw  the  first  rocket  burst  in  the  air  above  him, 
he  fell  to  the  ground  from  fright  and  lay  there 
several  minutes  as  if  lifeless.  On  recovering, 
he  concluded,  from  the  despairing  howls  of  the 
warriors,  that  some  kind  of  supernatural  beings 
were  slaying  the  Samburus.  Then  he  thought 
that  if  he  did  not  come  to  the  assistance  of  these 

'  Lances  and  spears. 


466     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

spirits  their  rage  might  also  be  turned  against 
him,  and  as  the  destruction  of  the  Samburus 
meant  his  deliverance,  he  collected  all  his  war- 
riors and  crept  out  of  the  boma  by  means  of  a 
hidden  side  passage,  and  thus  quickly  reached 
most  of  those  trying  to  escape.  The  fight  thus 
changed  into  a  slaughter.  The  kettledrums 
of  the  Samburus  ceased  to  rumble.  The  dark- 
ness was  penetrated  only  by  the  red  flashes 
from  Kali's  gun,  the  shrieks  of  dying  warriors, 
the  groans  of  the  wounded,  and  the  hollow 
beating  of  clubs  on  shields  rang  through  the 
air.  No  one  begged  for  quarter,  for  the 
negroes  know  no  mercy. 

For  fear  of  hitting  his  own  people  in  the 
confusion  and  darkness,  Stasch  at  last  ceased 
firing,  and  grasping  Gebhr's  sword,  threw  him- 
self on  the  enemy.  The  Samburus  could  now 
escape  from  the  mountains  to  the  frontier  only 
by  passing  through  a  broad  ravine,  but  Fumba 
and  his  warriors  blocked  this  narrow  pass,  and 
every  one  of  the  fugitives  was  slain  save  those 
who  threw  themselves  on  the  ground  and  sur- 
rendered, though  they  knew  that  cruel  slavery 
or  immediate  death  awaited  them  from  the  con- 
querors. Mamba  defended  himself  heroically 
until  a  club  smashed  in  his  skull.  His  son,  the 
young  Faru,  fell  into  the  hands  of  Fumba,  who 
ordered  him  bound  as  a  future  thanksgiving 
offering  for  the  spirits  who  had  come  to  his 
assistance. 

Stasch  did  not  lead  the  terrible  King  into 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     467 

the  battle,  but  only  allowed  him  to  roar,  which 
frightened  the  enemies  much  more.  He  did 
not  shoot  once  at  the  Samburus,  for  in  the  first 
place,  before  leaving  Lunla  he  promised  little 
Nell  not  to  kill  any  one,  and  secondly,  he  had 
really  no  desire  to  kill  people  who  had  never 
done  him  or  Nell  any  harm.  He  was  satisfied 
in  having  secured  the  victory  for  the  Wa-himas 
and  in  having  released  the  besieged  Fumba. 
When  Kali  came  running  up  soon  after  with 
the  news  of  the  final  victory,  he  ordered  him  to 
stop  the  battle,  which  was  still  raging  in  the 
clefts  of  the  rocks  and  was  being  prolonged  by 
Fumba's  fury. 

But  it  was  daylight  before  Kali  could  accom- 
plish this.  As  is  usual  in  tropical  countries,  the 
sun  rose  quickly  behind  the  mountains  and 
flooded  with  its  bright  light  the  battlefield, 
where  lay  more  than  two  hundred  Samburu 
corpses.  Some  time  later,  when  the  fighting 
ceased  and  the  joyful  howling  of  the  Wa-himas 
disturbed  the  morning  calm.  Kali  reappeared, 
but  with  such  a  sad  and  sorry  countenance  that 
it  was  very  evident,  even  from  a  distance,  that 
some  mishap  had  befallen  him.  Standing  still 
before  Stasch,  he  began  to  pound  his  head  with 
his  fists  and  to  cry  out  in  a  sad  voice: 

"O  Great  Man!  Fumba  kufa!  Fumba 
kufa!"^ 

"Killed?"  repeated  Stasch  questioningly. 

Kali  related  what  had  happened,  and  from 

'Fumba  is  dead. 


468     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

his  words  it  was  readily  understood  that  this  sad 
misfortune  was  the  result  of  Fumba's  revenge, 
for  after  the  battle  was  over  he  attempted  to 
kill  two  Samburus,  and  from  one  of  them  he 
received  a  thrust  from  a  lance. 

The  news  was  soon  dispersed  among  the 
Wa-himas,  and  an  excited  group  surrounded 
Kali.  Soon  afterward  six  warriors  carried  the 
old  king  on  spears.  He  was  not  dead,  but 
mortally  wounded.  He  wanted  to  see,  before 
he  died,  the  powerful  man  on  an  elephant  who 
was  the  true  conqueror  of  the  Samburus.  As- 
tonishment was  in  his  eyes,  but  the  haze  of 
death  was  also  veiling  them;  and  his  pale  and 
stiffening  lips  whispered  softly: 

"Yancig!     Yancig!" 

Shortly  after  his  head  sank  back,  his  mouth 
opened  wide  and  he  expired. 

Kali,  who  loved  him,  threw  himself  on  his 
breast  and  wept.  Some  of  the  warriors  began 
to  beat  their  heads,  others  to  proclaim  Kali 
king  and  to  cry  out,  "Yancig!"  in  his  honor. 
Others  fell  on  their  faces  before  the  young 
ruler.  Not  one  dissenting  voice  was  heard,  for 
Kali  was  their  king  not  only  because  he  was 
Fumba's  eldest  son,  but  also  because  he  had 
gained  the  victory. 

Meanwhile  in  the  sorcerers'  huts  and  in  the 
boma  on  the  mountain-top  the  wild  roaring  of 
the  bad  Msimu  could  be  heard.  At  first  it  was 
like  the  sound  that  Stasch  had  heard  before  in 
the  negro  village,  but  tliis  time  it  was  not  di- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     469 

rected  against  him,  but  demanded  the  death  of 
the  prisoners  for  killing  Fumba.  The  drums 
beat,  the  warriors  formed  in  a  long  line,  each 
row  consisting  of  three  men,  and  then  began  a 
war-dance  around  Stasch,  Kah,  and  the  corpse 
of  Fumba. 

"Oa!  Oa!  Yach!  Yach!"  repeated  all  the 
voices,  their  heads  wagging  right  to  left  in  a 
monotonous  manner,  the  whites  of  their  eyes 
shining,  and  the  points  of  their  spears  gleam- 
ing in  the  morning  sun. 

Kali  stood  up,  turned  to  Stasch,  and  said : 

"The  Great  Man  will  bring  Bibi  to  the  boma 
and  live  in  Fumba's  hut.  Kali  will  be  king  of 
the  Wa-himas  and  the  Great  Man  king  over 
Kali." 

Stasch  nodded  his  head  as  a  sign  of  approval, 
but  he  remained  there  a  few  hours  longer,  for 
he  and  King  needed  a  rest. 

He  did  not  leave  until  toward  evening.  Dur- 
ing his  absence  the  corpses  of  the  Samburus 
were  carried  away  and  thrown  into  a  deep  ra- 
vine near  by,  over  which  a  great  many  buzzards 
immediately  settled.  The  sorcerers  now  made 
preparation  for  Fumba's  burial,  and  Kali 
assumed  the  rulership  as  an  absolute  monarch, 
with  power  of  hfe  and  death  over  all  his  sub- 
jects. 

"Do  you  know  who  Kali  is?"  Stasch  asked 
the  girl  on  the  way  back  from  Lunla. 

Nell  looked  at  him  in  surprise. 

"He  is  your  servant!" 


470     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Oho!  A  servant!  Kali  is  now  king  of  all 
the  Wa-himas." 

This  news  amused  Nell  very  much.  This 
sudden  change,  by  which  the  former  slave  of 
the  treacherous  Gebhr  and  later  Stasch's  ser- 
vant had  become  king,  struck  Nell  as  extraordi- 
nary and  exceedingly  droll. 

Linde's  remark  that  the  negroes  were  like 
children,  incapable  of  remembering  what  hap- 
pened from  one  day  to  another,  did  not  apply 
to  Kali,  for  scarcely  had  Stasch  and  Nell 
reached  the  foot  of  Boko  Mountain  than  the 
young  monarch  ran  hastily  toward  them, 
greeted  them  with  the  usual  reverence  and  joy, 
and  repeated  the  same  words  he  had  spoken 
before: 

"Kali  be  king  of  the  Wa-himas  and  the 
Great  Man  king  over  Kali." 

His  admiration  was  so  great  that  he  all  but 
worshiped  Stasch;  he  made  a  very  low  bow  to 
Nell  before  the  assembled  people,  for,  from 
what  he  had  observed  during  the  journey,  he 
knew  that  the  Great  Man  was  more  concerned 
about  the  little  Bibi  than  about  himself. 

After  he  had  solemnly  led  Stasch  and  Nell 
up  to  the  summit  where  the  boma  was,  he  as- 
signed Fumba's  hut  to  them;  it  resembled  a 
large  shed  divided  into  several  rooms.  He 
ordered  the  Wa-hima  women,  who  accom- 
panied them  from  Lunla,  and  who  never  tired 
of  gazing  at  the  good  Msimu,  to  put  vessels  of 
honey  and  sour  milk  in  the  first  room,  and 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     471 

when  he  heard  that  the  Bibi,  who  was  very- 
much  fatigued  from  the  journey,  had  fallen 
asleep,  he  commanded  all  the  people  to  keep 
perfectly  quiet,  under  penalty  of  having  their 
tongues  cut  out.  He  now  decided  to  pay  them 
still  greater  homage,  and  so  when  Stasch  ap- 
peared before  the  shed  after  a  short  rest.  Kali 
approached,  bowed  low  before  him,  and  said: 

"To-morrow  Kali  will  give  orders  to  bury 
Fumba  and  to  behead  as  many  slaves  for 
Fumba  and  Kali  as  there  are  fingers  on  both 
their  hands;  and  to  propitiate  Bibi  and  the 
Great  Man  Kali  will  order  Faru,  the  son  of 
Mamba,  to  be  beheaded,  and  also  wengi,  wengi 
other  Samburus  taken  prisoners  by  the  Wa- 
himas. 

Stasch  frowned,  and  gazing  severely  into 
Kali's  eyes,  replied: 

"I  forbid  it." 

"Sir,"  said  the  young  negro  in  a  trembling 
voice,  "the  Wa-himas  always  behead  their  pris- 
oners. When  the  old  king  dies  they  behead 
people;  if  a  young  king  follows  they  behead 
people.  If  Kali  does  not  command  them  to  be 
killed  the  Wa-himas  will  not  believe  that  Kali 
is  king!" 

Stasch  looked  at  him  still  more  severely: 

"WeU,  how's  that?"  said  he.  "And  did  you 
not  learn  anything  on  Linde  Mountain?  Are 
you  not  a  Christian?" 

"I  am,  O  Great  Man!" 

"Then  hsten!     The  Wa-himas  have  black 


472     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

brains,  but  your  brains  must  be  white.  As  you 
are  now  their  king,  you  must  enlighten  and 
teach  them  what  you  learned  from  me  and 
Bibi.  They  are  now  like  jackals  and  hyenas — 
make  human  beings  of  them.  Tell  them  that 
it  is  forbidden  to  behead  prisoners  of  war,  for 
the  Great  Spirit  to  whom  Bibi  and  I  pray  pun- 
ishes those  who  shed  innocent  blood.  White 
people  do  not  behead  prisoners,  and  you  would 
treat  them  even  more  cruelly  than  Gebhr  did 
you — and  you  a  Christian!  Shame  on  you, 
Kali!  Replace  the  ancient  and  savage  cus- 
toms of  the  Wa-himas  by  humane  ones  and  God 
will  bless  you,  and  Bibi  will  not  say  that  Kali 
is  a  savage,  a  stupid  and  vicious  negro." 

A  terrible  roaring  from  the  sorcerers'  huts 
drowned  his  words.  Stasch  waved  his  hand 
excitedly  and  continued:  "I  hear!  Your 
Msimu  wants  the  blood  and  the  heads  of  the 
prisoners.  But  you  know  quite  well  what  this 
is,  and  so  you  are  not  frightened  at  this  noise. 
Therefore  I  only  say  this  much  to  you:  Take 
a  bamboo  rod,  go  into  every  hut  and  thrash  the 
sorcerers  until  they  roar  louder  than  their 
kettle-drums,  and  throw  the  kettle-drums  into 
the  midst  of  the  boma,  so  that  all  the  Wa-himas 
may  see  and  comprehend  how  these  villains  are 
deceiving  them ;  and  at  the  same  time  tell  your 
stupid  Wa-himas  what  you  told  M'Rua's 
people — that  where  the  good  Msimu  dwells  the 
blood  of  human  beings  must  not  be  shed." 

Stasch's  words  apparently  had  some  weight 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     473 

with  the  young  king,  for  he  looked  at  him  a 
moment  and  answered: 

"KaH  will  thrash  the  sorcerers  well,  will 
throw  out  the  kettle-drums,  and  tell  the  Wa- 
himas  that  where  the  good  Msimu  is  no  blood 
must  be  shed.  But  what  shall  Kali  do  with 
Faru  and  the  Samburus  who  have  killed 
Fumba?" 

Stasch,  who  had  already  planned  everything, 
had  anticipated  this  question,  immediately  an- 
swered : 

"Your  father  was  slain,  his  father  was  slain, 
so  both  were  slain.  You  must  form  a  brother- 
hood with  young  Faru,  then  the  Wa-himas  and 
the  Samburus  will  live  together  in  peace,  plant- 
ing manioc  and  hunting  together.  You  must 
tell  Faru  about  the  Great  Spirit,  and  Faru  will 
love  you  like  a  brother." 

"Kali  now  have  white  brains!"  answered  the 
young  negro. 

And  thus  the  conversation  ended.  Soon 
afterward  savage  roars  resounded  once  more, 
but  this  time  not  from  the  wicked  Msimu,  but 
from  the  two  sorcerers,  whose  skin  Kali  was 
thrashing  as  hard  as  he  could.  The  warriors, 
who  had  remained  below  standing  in  a  circle 
around  King,  hurried  up  the  hill  to  see  what 
was  the  matter;  they  saw  with  their  own  eyes 
and  heard  from  the  words  of  the  sorcerers 
themselves  that  the  wicked  Msimu,  before 
whom  they  were  accustomed  to  tremble,  was 
only  a  hollowed-out  tree  trunk  covered  with 


474     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

monkey-skin.  And  when  they  told  young 
Faru  that  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  the 
good  Msimu  and  the  Great  Man  he  was  not 
to  be  beheaded,  but  that  KaH  would  eat  a  piece 
of  him  and  he  a  piece  of  Kali,  he  could  not  trust 
his  senses;  then  on  hearing  to  whom  he  owed 
his  life,  he  pushed  himself  before  the  entrance 
to  Fumba's  hut  and  lay  there  until  Nell  came 
out  and  bade  him  arise.  Then  he  took  hold  of 
her  little  foot  with  his  black  hands  and  placed 
it  on  his  head,  as  a  sign  that  he  would  remain 
her  slave  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 

The  Wa-himas  were  very  much  surprised  at 
such  orders  of  the  young  king,  but  the  pres- 
ence of  the  unknown  guests,  whom  they  looked 
upon  as  the  most  powerful  sorcerers  in  the 
world,  awed  them  to  silence.  The  older  people 
were  displeased  with  the  new  customs,  and  the 
two  sorcerers,  realizing  that  all  their  good  times 
were  over,  swore  in  their  hearts  to  take  terrible 
vengeance  on  the  king  and  the  newcomers. 

Meanwhile  Fumba  was  solemnly  buried  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  under  the  boma.  Kali 
planted  a  bamboo  cross  on  his  grave,  and  the 
negroes  placed  on  it  several  vessels  containing 
pombe  ^and  smoked  meat,  so  that  his  spirit 
would  not  disturb  them  during  the  night. 

After  the  ceremony  of  the  brotherhood  be- 
tween Kali  and  Faru  was  over,  Mamba's 
corpse  was  given  to  the  Samburus. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     475 

CHAPTER   XXI 

WELL,  can  you  tell  how  many  journeys  we 
have  made  since  we  left  Fayoum?"  asked 
Stasch. 

"Yes." 

The  girl  raised  her  eyebrows  and  began  to 
count  on  her  fingers. 

"Let  me  see:  From  Fayoum  to  Khartum — 
the  first  journey;  from  Khartum  to  Fashoda — 
the  second;  from  Fashoda  to  the  gorge,  where 
we  found  King — the  third ;  from  Linde  Moun- 
tain to  the  lake — the  fourth!" 

"Right.  Perhaps  there  is  not  another  fly 
in  the  world  who  has  flown  through  so  much  of 
Africa." 

"This  fly  would  have  been  in  a  nice  plight 
without  you." 

And  he  began  to  laugh. 

"A  fly  on  an  elephant!  A  fly  on  an  ele- 
phant!" 

"But  no  tsetse.    Ah,  Stasch,  no  tsetse?" 

"No,"  he  replied;  "a  more  agreeable  kind  of 

fly-" 

Nell,  satisfied  with  this  praise,  leaned  her 
little  face  on  his  arm  and  asked: 

"And  when  shall  we  start  on  our  fifth 
journey?" 

"As  soon  as  you  are  rested  and  I  have  taught 
these  people,  whom  Kali  has  promised  to  send 
along  with  us,  how  to  shoot  a  little." 

"And  are  we  going  to  travel  very  long?" 


476     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Oh,  long,  Nell,  long!    Who  knows  if  this 
won't  be  the  longest  road?" 

"And  you  will,  as  you  always  do,  find  a  way 
out  of  all  our  difficulties?" 

"I  mustr 

Stasch  really  did  the  best  he  could,  but  the 
fifth  journey  required  great  preparation. 
They  were  going  once  more  into  unknown  dis- 
tricts, in  which  there  lurked  innumerable  dan- 
gers, and  against  these  the  boy  wished  to  take 
greater  precautions  than  he  had  ever  done 
before.  For  this  reason  he  taught  forty  young 
Wa-himas  to  shoot  with  Remington  rifles,  for 
he  thought  they  would  form  a  picked  troop  and 
would  also  serve  as  a  guard  for  Nell.  He  could 
not  train  more  men  to  shoot,  for  King  had  only 
carried  twenty-five  rifles  and  the  horses  had 
carried  fifteen.  The  rest  of  the  army  was  to 
be  made  up  of  a  hundred  Wa-himas  and  a  hun- 
dred Samburus  armed  with  lances  and  bows, 
which  Faru  promised  to  supply,  and  whose 
presence  solved  the  difficulties  of  the  journey 
through  the  long  stretch  of  wild  country  inhab- 
ited by  the  Samburu  tribes.  Stasch  recollected 
with  pride  how  he  had  fled  from  Fashoda,  trav- 
eling with  no  one  but  Nell  and  two  negroes,  and 
that  he  had  had  no  help  of  any  kind ;  so  he  now 
thought  that,  being  in  command  of  two  hun- 
dred armed  men,  and  having  an  elephant  and 
some  horses,  he  could  soon  reach  the  coast.  He 
tried  to  imagine  what  Englishmen,  who  lay 
such  stress  on  forming  resolutions,  would  say 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     477 

to  this,  and  especially  what  his  father  and  Mr. 
Rawlison  would  say,  and  this  made  every  diffi- 
culty appear  light. 

Nevertheless,  he  was  very  uneasy  for  Nell's 
safety  and  for  his  own.  Sure  enough,  he  would 
most  likely  have  little  difficulty  in  passing 
thi'ough  the  Wa-hima  and  Samburu  territory, 
but  what  would  follow?  What  kind  of  tribes 
would  he  be  likely  to  meet,  through  what  coun- 
tries and  how  many  miles  would  he  have  to 
travel?  Linde's  directions  had  not  been  spe- 
cific enough.  Stasch  was  very  much  worried 
because  he  had  no  idea  where  he  was,  for  this 
part  of  Africa  was  represented  as  a  white  spot 
on  the  maps  which  he  had  studied.  Besides, 
he  had  not  the  least  idea  what  the  Basso-Narok 
Lake  really  was  like  or  how  large  it  was.  He 
happened  to  be  on  its  south  bank,  where  it 
appeared  to  be  some  ten  kilometers  wide.  But 
how  far  the  lake  stretched  toward  the  north 
was  something  that  neither  the  Wa-himas  nor 
the  Samburus  could  tell  him.  Kali,  who  knew 
the  Ki-swahili  language  fairly  well,  answered 
all  questions  with  "bali,  bali,"  which  meant 
"far,  far,"  and  that  was  all  that  Stasch  could 
get  him  to  say. 

As  in  the  north,  the  mountains  at  the  horizon 
appeared  to  be  fairly  near,  and  he  supposed 
that  this  water  was  a  small  salt  lake,  many  of 
which  are  to  be  found  in  Africa.  Several  years 
later  it  was  evident  that  he  had  been  mistaken.^ 

'  This  was  the  large  lake  discovered  by  the  famous  explorer 
Teleki  in  1888,  and  named  Rudolf  Lake. 


478     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

For  the  present  it  was  not  absolutely  necessary 
to  be  more  familiar  with  the  banks  of  the 
Basso-Narok,  but  it  was  important  to  find  out 
whether  a  river  flowed  from  it,  eventually 
emptying  itself  into  the  ocean.  The  Sam- 
burus,  Faru's  subjects,  declared  that  to  the 
east  of  their  country  lay  a  large,  waterless  des- 
ert, which  no  one  had  ever  crossed.  Stasch 
knew  the  negroes  well  from  the  stories  of  trav- 
elers and  from  Linde's  adventures,  as  well  as 
from  his  own  experiences  with  them,  and  he 
was  convinced  that  as  soon  as  danger  and 
weariness  would  overtake  them  many  would 
return  home,  and  perhaps  not  a  single  one  re- 
main with  him.  In  this  case  he  would  find 
himself  in  the  middle  of  the  desert  alone  with 
Nell,  Mea,  and  the  little  Nasibu.  But,  above 
all,  he  recognized  that  the  lack  of  water  would 
break  up  and  disperse  the  caravan.  Following 
the  water-course,  it  would  be  impossible  to 
suffer  the  tortures  which  attack  all  travelers  in 
arid  regions,  so  he  inquired  where  a  stream 
could  be  found. 

But  the  Samburus  were  unable  to  give  him 
any  reliable  information,  and  he  could  not  take 
a  lengthy  excursion  along  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  lake  because  other  duties  retained  him  at 
the  boma.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  of  all 
the  kites  he  had  sent  up  from  Linde  Mountain 
and  from  the  negro  villages  through  which  they 
had  passed,  probably  not  one  had  flown  over  the 
chain  of  mountains  surrounding  the  Basso- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     479 

Narok.  For  this  reason  it  was  necessary  to 
make  new  ones  and  send  them  up,  for  these 
were  the  only  ones  the  wind  could  carry  far  off 
over  the  flat  desert,  perhaps  to  the  ocean.  He 
had  to  give  his  personal  attention  to  this  mat- 
ter, for  Nell  was  very  skilful  in  making  the 
kites  and  Kali  had  learned  how  to  send  them 
up,  but  neither  was  able  to  write  on  them  the 
necessary  message.  Stasch  believed  this  to  be 
a  matter  of  the  greatest  importance,  which 
should  on  no  account  be  neglected. 

These  duties  occupied  so  much  time  that  the 
caravan  was  not  ready  to  start  for  three  weeks. 
On  the  evening  before  they  intended  to  depart 
the  young  king  of  the  Wa-himas  appeared  be- 
fore Stasch,  made  a  low  bow,  and  said: 

"Kali  will  go  with  the  master  and  with  Bibi 
as  far  as  the  sheet  of  water  on  which  the  large 
rafts  of  the  white  men  swim." 

This  proof  of  devotion  touched  Stasch,  but 
he  did  not  feel  he  had  the  right  to  take  the  boy 
on  such  an  extended  journey,  from  which  he 
might  not  be  able  to  return  in  safety." 

"Why  do  you  want  to  go  with  us?"  he  asked. 

"Kah  loves  the  Great  Man  and  Bibi." 

Stasch  laid  his  hand  on  the  woolly  head. 

"Kali,  I  know  that  you  are  a  true  and  faith- 
ful boy.  But  what  will  happen  to  your  king- 
dom, and  who  will  reign  over  the  Wa-himas  in 
your  place?" 

"M'Lana,  a  brother  of  Kali's  mother." 

Stasch   knew   that    negroes    fight    for   the 


480     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

throne,  that  power  attracts  them  just  as  it  does 
white  people ;  he  thought  a  while  and  then  said : 

"No,  Kali!  I  can  not  take  you  along.  You 
must  stay  with  the  Wa-himas  in  order  to  make 
good  people  of  them." 

"Kali  return  to  them." 

"M'Lana  has  many  sons,  and  what  would 
happen  if  he  should  aspire  to  be  king  himself 
and  to  leave  his  kingdom  to  his  sons,  and  there- 
fore instigate  the  Wa-himas  against  you,  so 
that  they  drive  you  away  when  you  seek  to  re- 
turn?" 

"M'Lana  is  good.    He  no  do  that !" 

"But  if  he  does  do  it?" 

"Then  Kali  will  go  to  the  great  sheet  of 
water,  to  the  Great  Man  and  Bibi." 

"We  shall  not  be  there  then." 

"Then  Kali  will  sit  down  near  the  water  and 
weep  for  sorrow." 

At  these  words  he  folded  his  hands  over  his 
head  and  whispered: 

"Kali  loves  the  Great  Man  and  Bibi — very 
much!"  And  two  large  tears  shone  in  his 
eyes. 

Stasch  hesitated,  not  knowing  what  to  do. 
He  felt  sorry  for  Kali,  but  he  did  not  grant 
his  request  at  once.  He  knew  that — apart 
from  the  dangers  he  might  encounter  on  the 
return  journey — if  M'Lana  or  the  sorcerers 
were  to  incite  the  negroes,  not  only  would  the 
young  negro  be  banished  from  his  country,  but 
his  life  would  be  endangered. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT      481 

"It  will  be  much  better  for  you  to  stay  here," 
he  said;  "much  better!" 

But  while  he  was  speaking  Nell  appeared; 
she  had  overheard  the  whole  conversation 
through  the  thin  partition  which  separated  the 
caravan,  and  when  she  saw  tears  in  Kali's  eyes 
she  wiped  them  away  with  her  little  fingers,  and 
turning  to  Stasch,  said: 

"Kali  will  go  with  us!"  This  she  spoke  in 
a  decided  tone. 

"Oho!"  answered  Stasch,  a  little  hurt.  "You 
are  not  the  one  to  decide." 

"Kali  will  go  with  us!"  she  repeated. 

"Perhaps  not!" 

Then  she  suddenly  stamped  her  little  foot, 
saying : 

"I  wish  it!"    And  burst  into  tears. 

Stasch  looked  at  her  in  great  surprise,  as  if 
unable  to  understand  what  had  happened  to  the 
child,  who  was  usually  so  good  and  so  gentle, 
but  when  he  saw  how  she  put  both  little  fists 
up  to  her  eyes  and  with  open  mouth  gasped 
for  air  like  a  little  bird,  he  at  once  said: 

"Kali  shall  go  with  us — yes,  he  shall  go  with 
us!  Why  are  you  crying?  How  unreasonable 
you  are!  He  shall  go!  Do  you  hear?  He 
shall  go!" 

And  so  it  was  settled.  Stasch  felt  ashamed 
of  himself  all  that  day  because  of  his  weakness 
in  giving  in  to  the  "good  Msimu,"  and  she, 
having  gained  her  point,  was  as  quiet,  gentle, 
and  submissive  as  ever. 


482     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

CHAPTER    XXII 

THE  caravan  started  on  its  journey  at  sun- 
rise the  following  day.  The  young  negro 
felt  very  happy,  the  little  despot  was  gentle 
and  obedient,  and  Stasch  was  full  of  energy 
and  hope.  A  hundred  Wa-himas  accompanied 
them,  forty  of  the  latter  being  armed  with 
Remington  rifles,  which  they  knew  how  to  use 
quite  well.  Their  white  leader,  who  had  in- 
structed them  for  three  weeks,  knew  that  at  a 
given  signal  they  would  make  a  great  deal  of 
noise,  but  do  little  damage;  he  also  knew  that 
in  a  conflict  with  savage  people  noise  plays 
as  important  a  part  as  do  bullets,  and  he  was 
pleased  with  his  guards.  The  caravan  took 
away  large  quantities  of  manioc,  little  baked 
cakes  made  of  big  fat  ants  carefully  dried  and 
ground  to  flour,  and  also  a  great  deal  of  smoked 
meat.  About  ten  women  also  accompanied 
the  caravan,  and  they  carried  various  things 
for  Nell's  comfort  and  water-bags  made  of 
antelope  skins.  From  the  elephant's  back 
Stasch  supervised  and  gave  orders,  which  were 
perhaps  not  exactly  necessary,  but  he  did  this 
more  because  he  loved  to  play  the  role  of  the 
leader  of  an  army;  indeed,  he  surveyed  his 
small  army  with  pride. 

"If  I  wanted  to,"  he  said  to  himself,  "I  could 
be  king  of  all  these  tribes — just  as  Benjowski 
was  in  Madagascar!" 

And  the  thought  flashed  through  his  brain 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     483 

that  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  return  here 
eventually,  subjugate  a  whole  region,  civilize 
the  negroes,  and  found  a  new  Poland  in  this 
country,  or  even  to  leave  for  old  Poland  at  the 
head  of  an  army  of  trained  negro  soldiers ;  but 
feeling  this  was  an  absurd  idea,  and  doubting 
whether  his  father  would  give  him  permission 
to  play  the  part  of  an  Alexander  of  Macedon 
in  Africa,  he  did  not  confide  these  thoughts  to 
Nell,  who  was  the  only  person  in  the  world 
who  would  agree  with  him. 

Besides,  it  would  be  essential  to  be  indepen- 
dent of  these  savages  before  attempting  to  con- 
quer this  part  of  Africa,  and  so  he  busied  him- 
self with  what  lay  nearest  him.  The  caravan 
advanced  in  a  rope-like  line.  Stasch,  on  King, 
had  determined  to  bring  up  the  rear,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  have  everything  under  his  own  eyes. 

When  the  people  marched  past  him  in  single 
file  he  noticed  with  surprise  that  the  two  sor- 
cerers, M'Kunji  and  M'Pua,  who  had  been 
thrashed  by  Kali,  also  belonged  to  the  cara- 
van, and  were  carrying  baggage  on  their  heads 
and  marching  along  with  the  others. 

He  stopped  them  and  asked : 

"Who  told  you  you  might  go  along  with 
us?" 

"The  king,"  answered  both,  bowing  very 
low. 

But  under  the  mask  of  humility  their  eyes 
shone  so  wildly  and  their  faces  bore  such  an 
expression  of  rage  that  at  first  Stasch  felt  like 


484     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

driving  them  away,  and  was  only  prevented  be- 
cause he  did  not  wish  to  undermine  Kali's  au- 
thority. 

Calling  Kali  to  him,  he  asked: 

"Did  you  order  the  sorcerers  to  go  with  us?'* 

"Kali  told  them  to,  for  Kali  is  clever." 

"Therefore  I  again  ask  you,  why  did  your 
cleverness  not  leave  them  at  home?" 

"If  M'Kunji  and  M'Pua  had  remained, 
they  would  have  stirred  up  the  Wa-himas  so 
that  they  would  have  killed  Kali  on  his  return, 
and  if  they  go  along  with  us  Kali  will  look 
out  for  them  and  put  a  guard  on  them." 

Stasch  considered  a  while  and  said : 

"Perhaps  you  are  right;  but  be  on  the  alert 
day  and  night,  for  there  is  mischief  in  their 
eyes." 

"Kali  has  bamboos,"  answered  the  young 
negro. 

The  caravan  now  set  forth.  At  the  last  mo- 
ment Stasch  ordered  that  the  guards  equipped 
with  Remington  rifles  should  close  the  proces- 
sion, for  they  were  selected  and  trusted  men. 
During  the  gun  practising  they  had  in  a  way 
become  fond  of  their  young  leader,  and  because 
they  guarded  his  illustrious  person  they  felt 
themselves  more  favored  than  the  others.  They 
now  had  to  guard  the  entire  caravan  and  to 
capture  those  who  attempted  to  run  away.  It 
was  evident  that  as  soon  as  danger  or  fatigue 
came  there  would  be  plenty  of  deserters. 

On  the  first  day,  however,  everything  was 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     485 

peaceful  as  could  be.  The  negroes  with  the 
burdens  on  their  heads,  each  armed  with  a 
spear  and  several  smaller  darts,  wound  through 
the  jungle  in  one  long  line.  For  a  while  they 
advanced  over  a  flat  tract  on  the  southern  bor- 
der of  the  lake,  but  as  high  mountain  summits 
enclosed  the  lake  on  all  sides,  they  found  on 
turning  toward  the  east  that  it  was  necessary 
to  climb  over  the  hills.  The  old  Samburus,  who 
knew  this  country,  declared  that  the  caravan 
would  have  to  cross  narrow  passes  which  lay 
between  the  mountains  Kulall  and  Imo,  and 
that  until  they  reached  the  other  side  they 
would  not  come  to  the  flat  land  south  of  Bo- 
vani.  Stasch  knew  that  they  could  not  march 
directly  eastward,  for  he  remembered  that 
Mombasa  lay  several  degrees  the  other  side  of 
the  equator,  and  therefore  a  considerable  dis- 
tance south  of  this  unknown  lake.  But  as  he 
still  possessed  several  of  Linde's  compasses  he 
was  not  afraid  of  losing  his  way. 

The  quarters  for  the  first  night  were  ar- 
ranged on  a  woody  height. 

As  soon  as  it  had  become  dark  a  great  many 
campfires  flashed  forth,  around  which  the 
negroes  roasted  dried  meat  and  ate  cakes  made 
of  manioc  roots,  which  they  took  out  of  the 
pots  with  their  fingers.  After  they  had  ap- 
peased their  hunger  and  thirst  they  talked  over 
matters  with  one  another,  speculating  as  to 
where  "Bwana  Kubwa"  was  going  to  lead 
them,  and  what  they  would  receive  for  their 


486     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

services.  Some  sang  as  they  squatted  on  the 
ground  Hke  Turks  and  stared  into  the  fire,  but 
they  all  talked  so  long  and  so  loudly  that  at  last 
Stasch  was  obliged  to  command  silence  so  that 
Nell  could  sleep. 

The  night  was  very  cool,  but  the  next  morn- 
ing when  the  first  rays  of  sunlight  lighted  up 
the  scene  the  air  became  warm.  At  sunrise  the 
small  travelers  beheld  a  peculiar  sight.  They 
were  just  approaching  a  lake  about  two  hun- 
dred kilometers  long,  or  what  might  be  called 
a  large  puddle,  which  had  been  formed  in  a 
mountain  valley  by  the  rain,  when  Stasch,  who 
was  sitting  alongside  of  the  girl  on  King  and 
surveying  his  surroundings  through  the  tele- 
scope, suddenly  cried: 

"Nell,  look!  See  the  elephants  going  to  the 
water!" 

Half  a  kilometer  away  could  be  seen  a  herd 
of  five  beasts  slowly  advancing  single  file 
toward  the  small  lake. 

"But  these  are  strange  looking  elephants," 
said  Stasch,  who  was  still  regarding  them  very 
attentively.  "They  are  not  so  large  as  King, 
and  have  much  smaller  ears,  and  as  for  tusks,  I 
don't  see  any  at  all." 

Meanwhile  the  elephants  went  into  the 
water,  but  they  did  not  pause  on  the  bank  like 
King  usually  did,  and  did  not  bathe  themselves 
with  their  trunks,  but  steadily  advancing,  they 
went  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  water,  so  that 
at  last  only  their  black  backs,  resembling  pieces 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     487 

of  rock,  stood  out  over  the  surface  of  the 
water. 

"What's  that?  They  are  diving!"  cried 
Stasch. 

The  caravan  was  slowly  approaching  the 
bank,  and  at  last  reached  it.  Stasch  ordered  a 
halt,  and  gazed  with  the  greatest  surprise,  first 
at  Nell,  then  at  the  lake.  There  was  nothing 
to  be  seen  of  the  elephants  except  five  dots 
looking  like  red  flowers  riding  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  and  rocking  gently  to  and  fro. 

"They  are  standing  on  the  bottom,  and  these 
are  the  ends  of  their  trunks,"  exclaimed  Stasch, 
scarcely  believing  his  own  eyes.  Then  he  called 
to  Kali: 

"Kali,  did  you  see?" 

"Yes,  sir,  Kali  has  seen;  those  are  water- 
elephants,"^  answered  the  young  negro  calmly. 

"Water-elephants?" 

"This  is  not  the  first  time  Kali  has  seen 
them!" 

"And  they  live  in  the  water?" 

"In  the  night  they  go  into  the  jungle  and 
graze;  in  the  daytime  they  live  in  the  lake,  just 
like  the  riboks.^  They  do  not  go  out  until  after 
sunset." 

'  In  Africa  there  are  many  unraveled  mysteries.  Tales  of 
water-elephants  had  repeatedly  reached  the  ears  of  explorers, 
but  no  one  credited  them.  Lately  the  Paris  Museum  of  Natural 
History  commissioned  Monsieur  Le  Petit,  who  had  seen  water- 
elephants  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Leopold  in  the  Congo,  to  write  on 
the  subject.  This  report  can  be  seen  in  the  German  Magazine 
"  Kosmos." 

^Hippopotamus. 


488     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

For  some  time  Stasch  could  not  recover 
from  his  surprise,  and  had  he  not  been  in  a 
hurry  to  continue  the  journey  he  would  have  held 
back  the  caravan  till  the  evening,  so  as  to  have 
a  better  opportunity  of  observing  these  pecul- 
iar beasts.  But  it  also  occurred  to  him  that  the 
elephants  might  emerge  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  lake,  and  even  if  they  were  to  come  out  of 
the  water  at  any  nearer  place,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  see  them  well  in  the  dark. 

So  he  gave  the  command  to  depart,  but  on 
the  way  he  said  to  Xell: 

"Nell,  we  have  seen  something  which  no 
European  has  ever  seen  before.  And  do  you 
know  what  I  think?  That  if  we  are  lucky 
enough  to  reach  the  ocean  no  one  will  believe 
me  when  I  tell  them  that  there  are  water- 
elephants  in  Africa." 

"And  if  you  had  caught  one  of  them  and 
had  taken  it  along  with  you  to  the  ocean?"  said 
Nell,  who,  as  usual,  felt  satisfied  that  Stasch 
could  do  anything. 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

AFTER  traveling  ten  days  the  caravan  issued 
from  the  mountain  pass  and  entered  a  very 
different  region,  an  extended  plain,  mostly 
level,  but  broken  here  and  there  by  small,  wave- 
like hillocks.  The  vegetation  was  completely 
changed.  No  large  trees  towered  above  the 
waving,  grassy  plain.     Only  here  and  there, 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     489 

quite  far  apart,  there  sprang  up  rubber-acacias, 
with  coral-colored  and  umbrella-shaped  stems, 
but  scanty  foliage,  and  therefore  furnishing 
but  little  shade.  In  some  places  between  the 
ant-hills  a  species  of  euphorbia,  with  branches 
resembling  the  arms  of  a  candlestick,  grew 
taller  than  the  grass.  Hawks  soared  high  in 
the  air,  and  lower  down  black  and  white  feath- 
ered crow-like  birds  flew  from  one  acacia  bush 
to  the  other.  The  grass  was  yellow  and  had 
ears  like  ripe  corn.  The  dried-up  jungle 
seemed  to  furnish  abundant  food  for  many  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  animals,  for  during  the  day  the 
travelers  often  met  large  herds  of  antelope 
and  a  great  many  zebras.  The  heat  on  the  open 
and  treeless  plain  became  unbearable.  The  sky 
was  cloudless,  the  days  were  fiery  hot,  and  the 
night  did  not  bring  much  relief. 

Day  by  day  the  journey  grew  more  arduous. 
The  small  villages  through  which  the  caravan 
passed  were  inhabited  by  the  wildest  savages, 
who  were  so  terror-stricken  that  they  received 
the  travelers  very  reluctantly,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  numerous  armed  men  and  the  sight 
of  white  faces,  and  King  and  Saba,  great  dan- 
ger would  have  threatened  them. 

Stasch,  aided  by  Kali,  learned  that  there 
were  no  more  villages  farther  on,  and  that  they 
were  coming  to  a  waterless  district.  The  tales 
they  heard  were  hard  to  believe,  for  the  nu- 
merous animals  they  saw  must  have  found 
some  watering-place.     But  these  stories  of  a 


490     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

desert  in  which  there  was  rumored  to  be  neither 
stream  nor  puddle  frightened  the  negroes,  and 
some  of  them  deserted  the  party,  and  M'Kunji 
and  M'Pua  set  the  example.  Fortunately, 
their  flight  was  quickly  perceived,  and  the 
mounted  troupe  which  accompanied  the  trav- 
elers discovered  them  before  they  had  gotten 
far  from  the  camp.  When  they  were  brought 
back  Kali,  by  the  aid  of  a  bamboo  rod,  con- 
vinced them  of  the  inadvisability  of  such  a 
course.  Stasch  assembled  the  whole  company 
and  gave  them  a  lecture,  which  the  young  negro 
translated  into  their  native  language.  Dwell- 
ing on  the  fact  that  at  their  last  headquarters 
they  had  heard  lions  roaring  around  the  camp 
all  night,  Stasch  did  his  best  to  convince  his 
people  that  any  one  attempting  to  run  away 
would  certainly  become  their  prey,  or  if  he 
were  to  pass  the  night  in  an  acacia  tree  the  still 
more  terrible  wobos  would  lie  in  wait  for  him. 
He  also  said  that  where  there  are  antelope 
there  must  also  be  water,  and  that  if  in  the 
course  of  their  journey  they  were  to  strike 
waterless  regions,  they  could  take  with  them 
enough  water  for  two  or  three  days  in  bags  of 
antelope  skin.  The  negroes  paid  strict  atten- 
tion to  what  he  said,  and  continually  repeated : 
"Oh,  mother,  how  true  it  is!"  but  the  follow- 
ing night  five  Samburus  and  two  Wa-himas  de- 
serted, and  from  that  time  some  one  was  miss- 
ing every  night.  But  M'Kunji  and  M'Pua  did 
not  make  a  second  attempt  to  escape  for  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     491 

simple  reason  that  Kali  had  them  bound  at 
sundown  every  night. 

The  countiy  became  drier  and  drier,  the  sun 
beat  down  mercilessly  on  the  jungle,  and  not  a 
single  acacia  could  now  be  seen.  They  still 
came  across  herds  of  antelope,  though  fewer 
than  they  had  seen  previously.  The  donkey 
and  the  horses  so  far  had  enough  food,  for  be- 
neath the  high  dried  grass  they  found  in  many 
places  short,  green  grass  only  slightly  scorched 
by  the  sun.  But  King,  although  he  was  not 
fastidious,  became  much  thinner.  On  ap- 
proaching an  acacia  he  would  break  it  apart 
with  his  head  and  trunk  and  fill  himself  with 
young  leaves  and  pods.  Until  now  the  caravan 
had  always  been  able  to  strike  water,  though  it 
was  often  bad  and  had  to  be  filtered,  or  so  salty 
that  it  was  not  fit  to  drink.  Then  it  often  hap- 
pened that  the  men  Stasch  sent  out  in  advance 
under  Kali's  guidance  would  return  without 
having  found  a  single  puddle  or  even  a  tiny 
brook  in  the  hollows  of  the  ground,  and  Kali 
would  proclaim  in  troubled  tones,  "Madi 
apana"— "There  is  no  water  there." 

Stasch  was  soon  convinced  that  this  long, 
final  journey  would  certainly  not  be  easier  than 
the  ones  they  had  accomplished  before,  and  he 
began  to  worry  about  Nell,  for  a  great  change 
had  also  come  over  her.  Her  face,  instead  of 
being  tanned  by  the  sun  and  wind,  had  become 
paler  and  paler  day  by  day  and  her  eyes  had  lost 
their  accustomed  brilliancy.     Fortunately,  on 


492     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

these  dry  plains  there  were  no  flies  nor  danger  of 
fever,  but  it  was  very  evident  that  the  unbear- 
able heat  was  wasting  away  the  girl's  strength. 
Even  now  the  boy  looked  sadly  and  appre- 
hensively at  her  little  hands,  which  had  become 
as  white  as  paper,  and  he  bitterly  reproached 
himself  for  having  lost  so  much  time  in  making 
preparations  and  in  instructing  the  negroes 
how  to  shoot  that  he  had  to  continue  the  jour- 
ney in  the  hottest  time  of  the  year. 

With  these  anxieties  the  days  passed.  Even 
more  greedily  and  mercilessly  the  sun  drank 
the  dampness  and  the  life  from  the  earth.  The 
grass  shriveled  and  dried  up  until  it  was  so 
brittle  that  it  broke  off  under  the  hoofs  of  the 
antelope,  which  threw  up  clouds  of  dust  as 
they  passed.  But  the  travelers  now  found  a 
small  stream,  which  they  distinguished  from  a 
distance  by  the  long  rows  of  trees  growing  on 
its  banks.  The  negroes  ran  as  fast  as  they 
could  toward  the  trees,  and  on  arriving  at  the 
bank  threw  themselves  down  side  by  side  on 
the  ground,  dipping  their  heads  in  the  water 
and  drinking  so  greedily  that  they  only  de- 
sisted when  a  crocodile  caught  one  of  them  by 
the  hand.  Other  negroes  immediately  hastened 
to  the  assistance  of  their  comrade  and  drew  the 
horrible  reptile  out  of  the  water  at  once,  but  it 
would  not  let  go  of  the  man's  hand,  although 
they  opened  its  jaws  with  spears  and  knives. 
King,  however,  made  an  end  of  it  by  trampling 
it  under  foot,  as  if  it  had  been  a  rotten  mush- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     493 

room.  When  the  negroes  had  at  last  quenched 
their  thirst,  Stasch  ordered  a  round  fence  of 
tall  bamboos  to  be  erected  in  the  shallow  water, 
so  it  could  only  be  entered  from  one  side  of  the 
bank,  that  Nell  might  bathe  in  privacy.  The 
girl  was  greatly  refreshed  by  the  bath,  after 
which  she  lay  down,  and  after  a  rest  felt  greatly 
strengthened. 

To  the  great  delight  of  the  whole  caravan, 
including  Nell,  Bwana  Kubwa  decided  to  re- 
main ten  days  near  the  water.  When  this  be- 
came known  all  felt  so  happy  that  they  forgot 
the  fatigue  they  had  experienced;  some,  after 
being  restored  by  a  good  nap,  wandered  among 
the  trees  near  the  stream  looking  for  palms 
that  bear  wild  dates,^  called  Job's  tears,^  of 
which  necklaces  are  made.  Some  of  them  re- 
turned before  sunset  carrying  in  their  hands 
square,  white  objects,  which  Stasch  recognized 
as  his  own  kites. 

One  of  these  kites  bore  the  number  seven, 
which  proved  that  it  had  been  sent  up  from 
Linde  Mountain,  for  the  children  had  sent  up 
at  least  ten  from  that  place.  The  sight  of  this 
pleased  Stasch  so  much  that  he  took  heart 
again. 

"I  had  no  idea,"  he  said  to  Nell,  "that  the 
kites  could  fly  so  far.  I  was  sure  that  they 
would  be  entangled  in  the  peaks  of  the  Kara- 
ma  jo  Mountains,  and  I  only  sent  them  up 

'  PhcEnix  Senegalensis. 

^  Coix  Lacrymax-Jobi.  * 


494     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

thinking  to  let  them  take  their  chance.  But 
now  I  see  that  the  wind  can  carry  them  in  any 
direction,  and  I  trust  those  we  sent  up  from 
the  mountains  around  the  Basso-Narok  and  on 
the  road  here  will  fly  as  far  as  the  ocean." 

"They  will  certainly  fly  there,"  said  Nell. 

"So  be  it!"  said  the  boy  to  strengthen  his 
trust,  while  thinking  of  the  dangers  and  diffi- 
culties that  still  lay  before  them  on  their 
journey. 

The  third  day  the  caravan  started  off  again, 
taking  with  them  a  large  supply  of  water  in 
the  leather  bags.  Before  nightfall  they  again 
came  to  a  region  dried  up  by  the  rays  of  the 
sun.  Not  even  an  acacia  was  to  be  seen,  and 
the  ground  in  some  places  resembled  a  thresh- 
ing-floor. Occasionally  they  came  across  passi- 
flora  with  stems  penetrating  the  ground  and 
resembling  huge  bottle-gourds,^  as  much  as 
four  feet  or  more  in  diameter.  From  these 
enormous  balls  grew  lianas,  thin  as  twine,  which 
crept  along  the  ground  quite  a  distance,  form- 
ing such  an  impenetrable  thicket  that  even  mice 
would  have  had  a  hard  time  to  find  a  way 
through  it.  But  notwithstanding  the  beautiful 
green  of  these  plants,  which  remind  one  of  the 
European  bear's-f  oot,  they  were  so  very  thorny 
that  neither  King  nor  the  horses  could  eat  any 
part  of  them.  The  donkey,  however,  nibbled 
at  them,  though  very  carefully. 

At  times  they  saw  nothing  for  several  miles 

'  Adenia  globosa.       • 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     495 

except  coarse  short  grass  and  flowers  of  a  low 
order,  like  the  Durrblumen/  which  breaks  off  at 
the  merest  touch.  On  their  first  day  in  this  place 
the  sun  beat  down  in  fiery  heat  all  day  long. 
The  air  quivered  as  it  does  in  the  Libj^an  desert. 
The  earth  was  so  flooded  with  light  that  all 
objects  appeared  white.  Not  a  sound,  not  even 
the  buzzing  of  insects,  broke  the  deathlike  still- 
ness, through  which  penetrated  the  wilting 
glare. 

All  in  the  party  were  bathed  in  perspiration. 
Now  and  again  they  would  lay  down  the  bag- 
gage, the  dried  meat,  and  the  shields  in  a  large 
pile,  so  as  to  find  shade  beneath  it.  Stasch  gave 
orders  to  be  sparing  of  the  water ;  but  negroes 
are  like  children,  who  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow.  At  last  it  became  necessary  to  place 
a  guard  around  those  who  carried  the  bags  of 
provisions,  and  to  deal  out  a  fixed  allowance 
of  water  to  each  one  separately.  Kali  fulfilled 
,  this  task  very  conscientiously,  but  it  consumed 
a  great  deal  of  time,  retarded  their  march,  and 
therefore  the  finding  of  new  watering-places. 
The  Samburus  now  complained  that  the  Wa- 
himas  were  given  more  water  than  they,  and  the 
Wa-himas  complained  that  the  preference  was 
shown  to  the  Samburus.  The  latter  now 
threatened  to  turn  back,  but  Stasch  gave  them 
to  understand  that  if  they  did  Faru  would  have 
them  beheaded,  and  he  himself  ordered  the 
hunters,   who   were    armed   with   Remington 

'  Plants  peculiarly  adapted  to  dry  climates. 


496     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

rifles,  to  keep  guard  and  see  that  no  one 
escaped. 

The  second  night  they  passed  on  a  barren 
plain.  No  boma,  or,  as  they  called  it  in  the 
Sudanese  language,  zareba,  was  erected,  for 
there  was  nothing  there  to  build  it  of. 

King  and  Saba  formed  the  camp  guards, 
which  in  reality  was  sufficient  protection;  but 
King,  who  had  not  been  given  a  tenth  of  the 
water  he  needed,  trumpeted  for  it  until  sunrise, 
and  Saba  hung  out  his  tongue,  turned  his  eyes 
toward  Stasch  and  Nell,  silently  begging  for 
at  least  a  few  drops  of  water  to  drink.  The 
girl  asked  Stasch  to  give  the  dog  a  little  drink 
of  water  out  of  one  of  the  rubber  bags  which 
they  had  found  among  Linde's  things,  and 
which  he  wore  attached  to  a  cord  around  his 
neck,  but  he  was  keeping  this  for  the  little 
girl,  in  case  of  dire  necessity,  and  refused  her 
request. 

Toward  evening  of  the  fourth  day  there  were 
only  five  small  bags  of  water  left,  containing 
hardly  enough  to  give  each  person  half  a  glass- 
ful. But  as  the  nights  were  always  cooler  than 
the  days,  one  is  not  so  thirsty  then  as  under  the 
burning  rays  of  the  sun,  and  as  every  one  had 
been  given  a  little  water  to  drink  in  the  morn- 
ing, Stasch  ordered  that  the  water-bags  be 
reserved  for  the  following  day.  The  negroes 
grumbled  at  this,  but  they  still  stood  in  such  awe 
of  Stasch  that  they  did  not  dare  to  tamper  with 
the  little  that  was  left,  especially  as  there  were 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     497 

always  two  men  armed  with  Remington  rifles 
keeping  guard  over  the  water-bags,  who  re- 
Heved  each  other  every  hour.  The  Wa-himas 
and  the  Samburus  quenched  their  thirst  as  best 
they  could  by  pulling  up  miserable  blades  of 
grass  and  chewing  their  small  roots,  but  even 
these  had  retained  no  moisture,  for  the  merci- 
less sun  had  sucked  it  all  out  of  the  ground/ 
Although  sleep  did  not  quench  their  thirst,  it 
at  least  enabled  them  to  forget  it.  At  night 
every  one  of  the  party,  tired  and  exhausted 
from  the  day's  march,  dropped  down  where  he 
stood,  apparently  lifeless,  and  fell  fast  asleep. 
Stasch  also  slept,  but  he  was  too  much  worried 
and  troubled  to  sleep  long  and  restf ully.  After 
a  few  hours  he  awoke  and  began  to  wonder 
what  the  future  would  bring  forth  and  where 
he  could  find  water  for  Nell  and  the  whole 
caravan,  man  and  beast.  The  situation  was 
difficult  and  even  terrible,  but  as  yet  the  sen- 
sible boy  did  not  yield  to  despair.  He  recalled 
all  that  had  happened  since  they  had  been  car- 
ried off  from  Fayoum  until  the  present  mo- 
ment— the  first  great  journey  through  the 
Sahara,  the  hurricane  in  the  desert,  the  escape 
from  Gebhr,  then  the  journey  which  they  took 
after  Linde's  death  to  Lake  Basso-Narok  and 
on  to  where  they  were  now  stopping.  "We  have 
gone  through  so  much,  and  suffered  so  much," 
he  said  to  himself.    "How  often  it  seemed  to 

'  For  further  information  regarding  the  arid  plains  in  these 
regions  see  the  excellent  book,  "  Kill  Mandjaro,"  by  Father  Le 
Roy,  now  Bishop  of  Gabun. 


498     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

me  that  everything  had  collapsed  and  I  could 
find  no  way  out  of  my  difficulties;  yet  God 
helped  me,  and  I  always  found  a  way  out. 
It  is  quite  impossible  that  after  having  gone  so 
far  and  been  through  so  many  dangers  we 
should  give  out  on  this  last  journey.  We  still 
have  a  little  water,  and  this  place  is  certainly 
not  the  Sahara,  for  if  it  were  the  people  would 
surely  have  known  it!" 

But  he  was  especially  elated  by  the  fact  that 
during  the  day  he  had  seen  through  the  tele- 
scope indistinct  outlines,  as  of  mountains,  lying 
toward  the  south.  To  reach  them  would  mean 
a  journey  of  perhaps  a  hundred  miles;  but  if 
they  only  could  reach  them  they  would  be 
saved,  for  mountains  are  rarely  without  water. 
How  much  time  that  would  require  he  was  un- 
able to  tell,  for  it  depended  on  the  height  of 
the  mountain.  In  air  so  transparent  as  in 
Africa  high  summits  can  be  seen  a  consider- 
able distance  away,  so  water  must  be  found 
nearer  by.  Otherwise  destruction  threatened 
them. 

"It  must  be  done!"  Stasch  repeated  to  him- 
self. 

The  hard  breathing  of  the  elephant,  who  was 
trying  his  best  to  blow  the  fiery  heat  out  of  his 
lungs,  continually  interrupted  the  thoughts  of 
the  boy.  But  after  a  while  it  seemed  to  him 
as  if  he  heard  a  voice  like  some  one  groaning, 
which  sounded  as  though  it  came  from  another 
part  of  the  camp ;  in  fact,  from  where  the  water- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     499 

bags  lay  covered  up  for  the  night  with  grass. 
As  the  groaning  continued,  he  arose  and  went 
to  see  what  was  the  matter.  The  night  was  so 
bright  that  in  the  distance  he  could  see  two 
dark  bodies  lying  side  by  side  and  the  barrels 
of  the  guns  glistening  in  the  moonlight. 

"The  negroes  are  all  alike!"  he  thought. 
"They  should  be  guarding  this  water,  which  is 
now  more  precious  to  us  than  anything  else  in 
the  world,  and  both  of  them  are  sleeping  as 
soundly  as  if  in  their  own  huts.  Ah!  Kali's 
bamboo  will  be  of  some  use  to-morrow!" 

With  these  thoughts  he  approached  nearer 
and  kicked  one  of  the  guards,  but  immediately 
drew  back  horrified — for  the  apparently  sleep- 
ing negro  lay  on  his  back  with  a  knife  thrust 
up  to  the  hilt  in  his  throat,  and  beside  him  lay 
the  other  man  with  his  throat  so  terribly  cut 
that  his  head  was  nearly  severed  from  his  body. 

Two  bags  of  water  had  disappeared — three 
lay  in  the  middle  of  the  uprooted  grass  slit  open 
and  shriveled. 

Stasch's  hair  stood  on  end. 

CHAPTER    XXIV 

A  T  HIS  cries  Kali  came  running  up,  and  after 
-^*-  him  the  two  men  who  were  to  relieve  the 
guards,  and  then  all  the  Wa-himas  and  Sam- 
burus  assembled,  howling  and  roaring  around 
the  place  where  the  crime  had  been  committed. 
The  greatest  noise  and  confusion  ensued,  the 


500     THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

underlying  keynote  being  one  of  fear.  The 
negroes  were  not  so  much  disturbed  on  account 
of  the  men  having  been  murdered  and  a  crime 
committed  as  they  were  at  having  lost  their 
last  drop  of  water,  now  absorbed  by  the 
parched  earth  of  the  jungle.  Several  threw 
themselves  on  the  ground  and  pulled  up  lumps 
of  earth  with  their  fingers  and  sucked  out  the 
remaining  moisture.  Others  cried  that  wicked 
spirits  had  killed  the  guards  and  slit  the  bags. 
But  Stasch  and  Kali  knew  how  much  credit  to 
give  to  these  tales.  M'Kunji  and  M'Pua  were 
missing  from  the  howling  throng.  More  than 
the  murder  of  two  guards  and  the  theft  of 
water  had  taken  place.  The  water-bags  left 
behind,  having  been  torn,  proved  that  it  was 
done  for  revenge ;  it  meant  death  for  the  whole 
caravan.  The  priests  of  the  wicked  Msimu  had 
taken  revenge  on  the  good  Msimu.  The  sor- 
cerers had  taken  revenge  on  the  young  king 
because  he  had  brought  their  deceptions  to  light 
and  had  not  permitted  them  to  continue  de- 
ceiving the  stupid  Wa-himas.  But  now  death 
hovered  over  the  caravan  like  a  hawk  over  a 
flock  of  doves. 

Kali  remembered,  when  it  was  too  late,  that 
he  had  been  so  sad  and  also  so  busy  that  he  had 
forgotten  to  have  the  sorcerers  bound,  as  he 
had  done  every  evening  since  their  attempt  to 
escape.  It  was  also  evident  that  the  two 
negroes  guarding  the  water  had  lain  down  and 
gone  to  sleep,  with  the  inherent  thoughtlessness 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     501 

of  their  race.  This  had  made  the  work  of  the 
villains  easy  and  permitted  them  to  escape  mi- 
punished. 

Quite  a  time  elapsed  before  the  excitement 
subsided  and  the  party  recovered  from  its  dis- 
may. The  evil-doers  could  not  as  yet  have  got- 
ten far  away,  for  the  ground  under  the  slit 
bags  was  damp  and  the  blood  of  the  mur- 
dered guards  was  not  quite  dry.  Stasch 
ordered  the  fugitives  to  be  pursued,  not  with 
the  sole  purpose  of  punishing  them,  but  also  to 
recover  the  last  two  water-bags.  Kali  imme- 
diately mounted  a  horse  and  with  several  rifle- 
men started  in  pursuit.  It  occurred  to  Stasch, 
who  had  first  thought  of  accompanying  them, 
that  because  of  the  excitement  and  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  negroes  he  could  not  pos- 
sibly leave  Nell  alone  with  them;  so  he  re- 
mained behind,  but  he  ordered  Kali  to  take 
Saba  with  him. 

He  was  greatly  afraid  there  would  be  an  up- 
rising, and  he  felt  sure  that  the  Samburus 
would  revolt.  But  in  this  he  was  mistaken. 
Negroes  are  given  to  revolt,  and  sometimes 
even  for  trivial  reasons,  but  when  overpowered 
by  misfortune,  and  especially  when  the  merci- 
less hand  of  death  weighs  heavily  on  them,  they 
yield  without  making  any  attempt  at  resist- 
ance. This  applies  not  only  to  those  whom 
Islam  has  taught  that  it  is  useless  to  struggle 
against  fate,  but  to  all  without  exception.  Then 
neither  fear  nor  the  agony  of  their  last  mo- 


502      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ments  can  awaken  them  from  their  lethargy. 
This  was  the  case  now.  As  soon  as  the  first 
excitement  was  over  and  the  Wa-himas  and  the 
Samburus  realized  that  they  must  eventually 
die,  they  lay  down  quietly  on  the  ground  to 
wait  for  death ;  therefore  no  rebellion  was  to  be 
expected;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  doubtful  if 
they  would  get  up  the  following  morning  and 
be  willing  to  continue  the  journey. 

Stasch  felt  deeply  sorry  for  them. 

Kali  returned  before  daybreak,  and  imme- 
diately placed  in  front  of  Stasch  two  torn  bags, 
in  which  not  a  drop  of  water  remained. 

"Great  Man,"  he  said,  "Madi,  apana!" 

Stasch  wiped  his  forehead,  which  was  stream- 
ing with  perspiration  from  fright  and  worry; 
then  he  asked: 

"And  M'Kunji  and  M'Pua?" 

"M'Kunji  and  M'Pua  are  dead,"  answered 
Kali. 

"You  have  killed  them?" 

"Lion  or  wobo  killed  them!" 

And  he  began  to  relate  what  had  happened. 
They  found  the  corpses  of  the  two  criminals  at 
quite  a  distance  from  the  camp,  where  they  had 
been  killed.  They  lay  side  by  side;  both  had 
had  their  skulls  crushed  in  from  behind,  their 
shoulders  torn,  and  their  backs  eaten.  Kali 
conjectured  that  a  wobo  or  a  lion  had  appeared 
before  them  in  the  moonlight  and  that  they 
had  fallen  on  their  faces  to  beseech  it  to  spare 
their  lives.     But  the  terrible  beast  had  killed 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     503 

them  both;  then,  having  satisfied  its  appetite, 
it  scented  the  water  and  tore  the  bags  to 
pieces. 

"God  has  punished  them,"  said  Stasch,  "and 
the  Wa-himas  will  now  be  convinced  that  the 
wicked  Msimu  can  save  no  one." 

And  Kali  repeated: 

"God  has  punished  them,  but  we  have  no 
water." 

"Ahead  of  us,  far  off  toward  the  east,  I  have 
seen  mountains.    There  must  be  water  there." 

"Kali  has  also  seen  them,  but  to  get  to  them 
are  many,  many  days " 

A  short  silence  ensued. 

"Sir,"  said  Kali,  "good  Msimu,  Bibi,  should 
pray  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  rain  or  for  a  stream 
of  water." 

Stasch  made  no  reply,  but  moved  away.  He 
saw  Nell's  little  white  figure  in  front  of  the 
tent,  for  the  screams  and  howls  of  the  negroes 
had  awakened  her  some  time  before. 

"Stasch,  what  has  happened?"  she  asked, 
hurrying  toward  him. 

He  laid  his  hand  on  her  little  head  and  said 
gravely : 

"Nell,  pray  to  God  for  water — or  we  are  all 
doomed  to  die!" 

And  so  the  little  girl  raised  her  small,  pale 
face  to  heaven;  fixing  her  ej^es  on  the  silver 
disk  of  the  moon,  she  prayed  for  deliverance  to 
Him  who  in  heaven  guides  the  stars,  and  on 
earth  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. 


504      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

After  a  sleepless,  noisy,  and  distracted  night 
the  sun  appeared  on  the  horizon  with  the  sud- 
denness that  prevails  only  at  the  equator;  at 
once  it  was  bright  daylight.  Not  a  drop  of  dew 
on  the  grass,  not  a  cloud  in  the  sky. 

Stasch  ordered  the  riflemen  to  gather  the 
negroes  together,  and  he  addressed  a  few  words 
to  them.  He  explained  that  it  was  impossible 
to  return  to  the  river,  for  they  knew  full  well 
that  they  were  five  days'  or  five  nights'  jour- 
ney from  it.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  no  one 
could  tell  whether  they  might  not  find  water  in 
the  opposite  direction.  In  their  immediate 
neighborhood  a  spring,  a  tiny  stream,  or  a  pool 
might  be  found;  for  although  no  trees  could 
be  seen,  it  often  happens  that  on  open  plains 
where  seeds  are  blown  away  by  hurricanes 
there  is  water,  though  no  trees.  The  day  be- 
fore they  had  seen  several  large  antelope  and 
ostriches  running  eastward,  which  was  a  sign 
that  there  must  be  a  watering-place  somewhere 
in  that  direction.  Therefore  any  one  not  a  fool 
or  chicken-hearted,  but  having  a  brave  heart 
like  the  lion  and  buffalo,  would  prefer  to  march 
on,  even  though  suffering  tortures  from  thirst, 
rather  than  to  remain  lying  on  the  ground 
waiting  for  the  hawks  and  hyenas  to  devour 
them.  At  these  words  he  pointed  with  his  hand 
to  some  hawks  flying  in  circles  over  the  caravan, 
the  harbingers  of  disaster.  Nearlj'^  all  the  Wa- 
himas,  whom  Kali  had  ordered  to  arise,  stood 
up  when  they  heard  these  words;  being  accus- 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     505 

tomed  to  despotic  rule,  they  did  not  dare  to 
show  the  least  resistance.  Many  of  the  Sam- 
burus,  however,  because  their  king  Faru  had 
remained  behind  at  the  lake,  did  not  want  to 
get  up  again,  and  they  said  to  one  another: 
"Why  should  we  seek  death  when  death  is  seek- 
ing us?" 

Thus  the  caravan,  now  reduced  by  nearly 
one-half,  broke  camp,  and  even  this  exertion 
caused  the  men  much  torture  and  pain.  For 
twenty-four  hours  no  one  had  tasted  a  drop  of 
water  or  any  other  liquid.  Even  in  a  cooler 
climate  this  would  have  caused  most  acute 
suffering,  and  what  must  it  mean  to  these — 
now  laboring  in  this  African  furnace,  in  which, 
even  if  water  be  drunk  in  plenty,  the  perspira- 
tion follows  so  rapidly  that  one  can  wipe  it 
off  his  skin  almost  the  same  moment  it  is 
swallowed.  It  was  certain  that  many  of  the 
party  would  collapse  by  the  way  from  exhaus- 
tion and  sunstroke.  Stasch  protected  Nell 
from  the  sun  as  best  he  could,  and  would  not 
allow  her  for  a  second  to  put  her  head  out  of  the 
palanquin,  the  roof  of  which,  by  the  way,  he 
had  covered  with  a  piece  of  white  percale  to 
make  it  a  double  protection  against  the  blight- 
ing rays.  He  used  the  water  still  remaining  in 
the  rubber  bag  to  make  some  strong  tea  and 
served  it  to  her  without  sugar,  because  sweets 
increase  thirst.  The  girl  pleaded  with  tears  in 
her  eyes  for  him  to  drink,  too,  and  at  last  he  put 
the  bottle,  in  which  scarcely  a  few  thimblefuls 


506      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

of  water  remained,  to  his  lips,  and  moving  his 
throat,  pretended  to  drink.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment, as  he  felt  the  touch  of  moisture  on  his 
lips,  it  seemed  to  him  as  though  a  flame  were 
burning  in  his  chest  and  stomach,  and  that  if 
he  could  not  extinguish  it  he  would  drop  dead. 
Red  circles  began  to  glimmer  before  his  eyes, 
terrible  stinging  pains  shot  through  his  jaw 
as  of  a  thousand  needles.  His  hand  trembled 
so  that  he  came  near  spilling  the  last  precious 
drops,  but  he  only  moistened  his  tongue  and 
reserved  the  rest  for  Nell. 

Another  day  of  suffering  and  fatigue  en- 
sued, which  was  fortunately  followed  by  a  cool 
night.  The  next  morning  the  burning  heat 
again  beat  down  and  not  a  breath  of  air  was 
stirring.  The  sun,  like  a  spirit  of  evil,  devas- 
tated the  parched  soil  with  its  deadly  fire.  The 
edge  of  the  sky  down  near  the  horizon  was  a 
pale  hue,  and  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  not 
even  a  bush  could  be  seen.  Nothing — only  a 
burned,  desert  plain,  covered  with  tufts  of 
blackened  grass  and  heather.  Occasionally  a 
slight  rumble  of  thunder  was  heard  in  the  far 
distance,  but  coming  from  a  clear  sky  it  was 
a  sign  of  drought,  not  of  rain. 

At  noon,  when  the  heat  was  at  its  worst,  it 
became  necessary  to  halt.  The  caravan  rested 
in  gloomy  silence.  Two  horses  had  dropped 
down,  and  a  number  of  negroes  had  fallen  be- 
hind. During  this  rest  no  one  thought  about 
eating.    The  eyes  of  all  were  sunken,  their  lips 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     507 

cracked,  and  on  them  were  dried  clots  of  blood. 
Nell  gasped  like  a  languid  little  bird,  so  Stasch 
handed  her  two  rubber-bags;  and  crying  out, 
"I  have  drunk,  I  have  drunk!"  ran  toward  the 
other  side  of  the  camp,  fearing  that  if  he  re- 
mained he  would  take  the  water  away  from  her 
or  ask  her  to  share  it  with  him.  Perhaps  this 
was  the  most  heroic  thing  he  had  done  during 
the  entire  journey.  His  sufferings  increased 
under  these  tortures.  Red  circles  continually 
glimmered  before  his  eyes.  Such  a  terrible 
pressure  was  in  his  jaws  that  he  could  open 
and  shut  them  only  with  difficulty.  His  throat 
was  parched  and  feverishly  hot,  there  was  no 
saliva  in  his  mouth,  and  his  tongue  was  dry 
as  wood. 

But  this  was  only  the  beginning  of  the  tor- 
ture for  him  and  for  the  caravan.  The  rum- 
bling of  thunder  near  the  horizon,  a  sign  of 
drought,  continued.  About  three  o'clock, 
when  the  sun  turned  toward  the  western  side 
of  the  heavens,  Stasch  ordered  the  caravan  to 
march.  He  placed  himself  at  its  head  and  led 
it  toward  the  east.  He  had  now  scarcely 
seventy  men,  and  now  and  then  one  of  these 
would  lie  down  beside  his  burden  never  to  rise 
again.  The  thermometer  went  down  a  few  de- 
grees, but  even  then  it  was  murderously  hot. 
The  motionless  air  was  filled  with  suffocating 
humidity,  and  they  could  scarcely  breathe.  The 
animals  also  suffered.  Saba's  sides  heaved  up 
and  down,  and  he  panted  laboriously;  not  a 


508      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

drop  of  froth  fell  from  his  tongue,  which  was 
black  and  hanging  out  of  his  mouth.  King, 
who  was  used  to  the  dry  African  jungle,  did 
not  seem  to  suffer  much,  but  still  he  began  to 
be  troublesome.  A  strange  light  shone  in  his 
tiny  eyes.  He  still  answered  Stasch,  and  espe- 
cially Nell,  who  occasionally  talked  to  him, 
with  a  grunt,  but  when  Kali  thoughtlessly 
passed  him  by  King  snorted  threateningly  and 
wavjsd  his  trunk  so  frantically  that  the  boy 
would  probably  have  been  killed  had  he  not 
sprung  quickly  aside. 

Kali's  eyes  were  bloodshot,  the  veins  of  his 
throat  were  swollen,  and  his  lips  were  cracked 
like  those  of  the  other  negroes.  Toward  five 
o'clock  he  approached  Stasch,  and  with  great 
difficulty  moved  his  throat  sufficiently  to  say 
in  a  hollow  voice : 

"Great  Man,  Kali  can  go  no  farther.  He 
will  stay  here  for  the  night." 

Stasch  controlled  the  pain  in  his  jaw  and 
answered  with  difficulty : 

"All  right;  let  us  halt.  The  night  will  bring 
rehef." 

"It  will  bring  death,"  whispered  the  young 
negro.  The  negroes  threw  down  the  burdens, 
but  they  did  not  lie  down  immediately,  as  the 
fever,  which  had  thickened  their  blood,  was 
now  at  its  height.  Their  hearts  and  the  pulses 
in  hands  and  feet  beat  so  heavily  that  it  seemed 
they  must  burst.  The  skin  on  their  bodies,  dry 
and  shriveled,  began  to  itch.     In  their  bones 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     509 

they  felt  an  intense  restlessness,  and  a  fiery 
heat  seemed  to  consume  their  throats  and  in- 
testines. Many  walked  restlessly  up  and  down 
between  the  piles  of  baggage.  By  the  rays  of 
the  dying  sun,  others,  farther  away,  could  be 
seen,  following  each  other  among  the  parched 
bushes  until  their  strength  was  utterly  ex- 
hausted. Then  one  by  one  they  fell  to  the 
ground,  not  resting  quietly,  but  twitching 
more  spasmodically  than  before.  Kali  sat 
down,  in  Turkish  fashion,  next  to  Stasch  and 
Nell,  with  his  mouth  open  and  gasping  for  air. 
Between  breaths  he  begged  beseechingly: 

"Bwana  Kubwa,  water!" 

Stasch  looked  at  him  with  a  glassy  stare  and 
was  silent. 

"Bwana  Kubwa,  water  1" 

And  after  a  while: 

"Kali  die " 

Therefore  Mea,  who  for  some  reason  was 
able  to  bear  the  thirst  better  than  any  one  else, 
sat  down  beside  him,  and  putting  her  arms 
around  his  neck,  said  in  a  soft,  melodious  voice : 

*'Mea  will  die  along  with  Kali " 

A  long  pause  ensued. 

Meanwhile  the  sun  went  down  and  the  night 
clothed  the  landscape  in  darkness.  The  heav- 
ens became  dark  blue.  In  the  southern  sky 
shone  the  cross.  Over  the  plain  glittered 
myriads  of  stars.  The  moon  rose  and  its  light 
pervaded  the  darkness,  and  in  the  west  the  pale 


510      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

twilight  of  the  zodiac  spread  far  and  wide.  The 
atmosphere  became  a  huge  glittering  flood.  An 
even  more  brilliant  glow  spread  over  the  land- 
scape. The  palanquin,  which  they  forgot  to 
remove  from  King's  back,  and  the  tents  shone 
as  if  made  of  white  marble.  The  world  sank 
into  deathlike  silence;  sleep  enveloped  the 
earth.  And  in  the  midst  of  nature's  tranquil 
peacefulness  Stasch  and  his  followers  writhed 
in  pain,  waiting  for  death.  On  the  silver  back- 
ground of  the  twilight  the  huge  form  of  the 
elephant  stood  out  distinctly.  The  moonlight 
illuminated  the  tent,  Stasch's  and  Neil's  white 
clothes,  the  spaces  between  the  bushes  of 
heather,  the  dark,  cramped,  and  distorted 
bodies  of  the  negroes  and  the  baggage-strewn 
ground.  Saba  sat  on  his  hind  legs  in  front  of 
the  children  and  howled  sadly  with  head  turned 
toward  the  moon.  Not  a  thought  was  left  in 
the  soul  of  Stasch — nothing  but  dumb  despair. 
He  felt  there  was  no  help,  no  way  out,  that  all 
their  terrible  fatigue  and  hardships,  all  the 
sufferings  and  courageous  deeds  done  on 
the  terrible  journey — from  Medinet  to  Khar- 
tum, from  Khartum  to  Fashoda,  from  Fashoda 
to  the  unknown  lake — had  been  utterly  useless, 
and  that  they  could  not  escape  the  inexorable 
end  of  the  struggle — death.  It  appeared  all 
the  more  dreadful  to  him  since  it  would  come 
on  the  last  stretch  of  the  journey — at  whose 
end  lay  the  ocean.  Oh,  he  could  never  take 
Nell  to  the  coast,  nor  put  her  on  the  ship  for 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     511 

Port  Said ;  he  could  never  give  her  hack  to  her 
father,  nor  fall  into  his  father's  arms  and  hear 
him  say  that  he  had  acted  like  a  brave  boy  and 
a  true  Pole!  It  was  all  over!  In  a  few  days 
the  sun  would  shine  but  on  lifeless  bodies ;  then 
it  would  dry  them  up  like  the  mummies  that 
sleep  the  everlasting  sleep  in  Egyptian  mu- 
seums ! 

His  brain  was  turning  from  the  pain  and 
heat  and  fever;  he  saw  visions  of  death 
struggles,  and  there  came  to  him  strange 
sounds.  He  distinctly  heard  the  voices  of  the 
Sudanese  and  the  Bedouins  crying,  "Yalla! 
Yalla!"  as  they  mercilessly  whipped  their 
frightened  camels.  He  saw  Idris  and  Gebhr. 
The  Mahdi  smiled  at  him  with  his  thick  lips 
and  asked:  "Will  you  drink  of  the  fountain 
of  truth?"  A  lion  standing  on  a  rock  gazed  at 
him,  then  Linde  gave  him  a  jar  of  quinine  and 
s?^id:  "Make  haste,  for  the  little  one  is  dying!" 
Then  he  only  saw  a  pale,  sweet  little  face  and 
two  little  hands  stretched  toward  him. 

Suddenly  he  shuddered;  for  a  moment  con- 
sciousness came  back  to  him — close  to  his  ear 
Nell's  soft,  sad,  pleading  voice  whispered: 

"Stasch — water!" 

She,  as  did  Kali,  rested  her  hope  on  him. 
But  as  he  had  given  her  the  last  drops  of  water 
twelve  hours  before,  he  now  controlled  himself 
and  cried  out  with  a  voice  full  of  emotion,  pain, 
and  despair: 

"Oh,  Nell,  I  only  pretended  to  drink!    For 


512      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

the  last  three  days  I  have  not  tasted  a 
drop!" 

And  holding  his  head  in  despair,  he  ran  away 
that  he  might  not  see  how  she  suffered.  Blindly 
up  and  down  between  the  tufts  of  grass  and 
heather  he  ran,  until  his  strength  was  utterly 
exhausted  and  he  sank  down  on  one  of  the 
bushes.  No  weapon  of  any  kind  was  in  his 
hand.  A  leopard,  lion,  or  even  a  large  hyena 
would  have  found  him  easy  prey.  But  only 
Saba  came  running  up,  sniffing  at  him  and 
howling,  as  if  he,  too,  were  asking  for  help. 

No  one  came  to  their  assistance.  Only  the 
calm,  indifferent  moon  looked  down  upon  them 
from  above.  For  a  long  time  the  boy  lay  as  if 
lifeless.  When  a  cooler  breath  of  wind,  unex- 
pectedly blowing  from  the  east,  restored  him 
to  his  senses,  he  raised  himself  and  tried  to 
stand  and  go  to  Nell. 

Now  there  blew  another  cool  breath  of  wind. 
Saba  ceased  to  howl,  turned  toward  the  east, 
and  began  to  expand  his  nostrils.  Suddenly 
he  barked  once  in  a  sharp  bass  tone  and  then 
a  second  time,  and  ran  on  straight  ahead.  For 
a  time  he  seemed  to  be  silent,  but  soon  his  bark 
was  heard  in  the  distance.  Stasch  stood  up, 
and  staggering  about  on  his  benumbed  legs, 
looked  in  the  direction  taken  by  Saba.  The 
lengthy  journeys,  the  long  sojourn  in  the 
jungle,  the  necessity  of  keeping  all  his  senses 
strung  up  to  their  highest  pitch,  and  the  in- 
cessant dangers  he  had  encountered  had  taught 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     513 

the  boy  to  observe  everytliing  that  was  going 
on  about  him.  And  so,  notwithstanding  the 
tortures  he  suffered  at  the  moment,  and  though 
he  was  only  semi-conscious,  he  began  from  in- 
stinct to  note  the  movements  of  the  dog.  After 
a  while  Saba  returned,  but  he  seemed  disturbed 
and  very  restless.  Several  times  he  looked  up 
at  Stasch,  walked  around  him,  ran  away  in  the 
heather  sniffing  and  barking,  and  again  re- 
turned, and  at  last  taking  hold  of  the  boy's 
clothes,  he  began  to  drag  him  toward  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  camp. 

Stasch  had  now  fully  regained  his  presence 
of  mind. 

"What  is  that?"  he  thought.  "Either  the  dog 
has  gone  mad  from  thirst  or  he  has  scented 
water.  But  no! —  If  there  were  water  near 
by  he  would  have  run  there  to  drink  and  his 
thi-oat  would  be  wet.  But  if  the  water  be  far 
off  he  has  not  scented  it — for  water  has  no 
scent.  He  is  not  pulling  me  toward  some  kind 
of  prey,  for  this  evening  he  refused  to  eat. 
Then  what  can  it  mean?" 

And  suddenly  his  heart  began  to  beat  faster 
in  his  breast. 

"Perhaps  the  wind  has  brought  him  the 
scent  of  human  beings? —  Perhaps — perhaps 
there  is  a  negro  village  in  the  distance? — per- 
haps one  of  the  kites —  O  merciful  Jesus !  O 
Jesus! " 

A  faint  ray  of  hope  spurred  him  on ;  he  felt 
stronger  and  tried  to  run  toward  the  camp,  in 


514      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

spite  of  the  resistance  of  the  dog,  who  con- 
tinually barred  the  way.  From  the  camp 
Nell's  white  form  shone  out  and  her  weak  voice 
reached  him ;  soon  afterward  he  stumbled  over 
Kali  lying  on  the  ground,  but  he  took  no  heed 
of  anything.  Reaching  the  piece  of  baggage  in 
which  the  rockets  were  kept,  he  tore  it  open, 
took  one  out,  with  trembling  hands  bound  it 
to  a  bamboo  post,  pushed  it  into  the  earth,  and 
lighted  the  fuse. 

Soon  a  red  snake  shot  up,  spluttering  noisily 
into  the  air.  Stasch  caught  hold  of  the  bam- 
boo rod  with  both  hands  to  prevent  himself 
from  falling,  and  gazed  fixedly  into  the  dis- 
tance. The  pulses  in  his  hands  and  temples 
beat  hard  and  his  lips  moved  in  fervent  prayer. 
He  felt  that  in  this  his  last  breath  his  heart  was 
calling  on  Heaven  for  help. 

A  second,  a  third,  a  fourth  minute  elapsed. 
Nothing — and  again  nothing!  The  boy's 
hands  fell  at  his  side,  his  head  sank  to  the 
ground,  and  dreadful  pain  filled  his  tortured 
breast. 

"In  vain !  In  vain !"  he  moaned.  "I  shall  go 
and  sit  down  by  Nell,  and  we  shall  die  to- 
gether." 

At  the  same  moment  far,  far  off  in  the 
silvery  background  of  the  moonlit  night  a 
fiery  streak  rose  into  the  air  and  broke  into 
golden  stars,  which  slowly  fell  to  the  ground 
like  large  tears. 

"We  are  saved!"  cried  Stasch. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     515 

Then  the  people,  half  dead  but  a  moment 
ago,  sprang  up,  running  to  and  fro,  jumping 
over  the  grass  and  tufts  of  heather.  After 
the  first  rocket,  a  second  and  a  third  were  sent 
up.  Then  a  gust  of  wind  brought  the  echo  of 
a  peculiar  cracking  sound,  very  evidently 
caused  by  distant  shots.  In  reply  Stasch  or- 
dered all  the  rifles  fired  off,  and  from  that  time 
the  guns  answered  each  other  without  inter- 
mission, and  the  noises  became  more  and  more 
distinct.  The  boy  now  mounted  a  horse,  which 
also  had — as  if  by  a  miracle — regained  some 
strength,  and  holding  Nell  before  him,  galloped 
over  the  plain  toward  the  sound  of  deliverance. 
Saba  ran  alongside,  and  behind  him  tramped 
the  huge  King.  The  two  camps  were  several 
kilometers  apart,  but  each  party  was  hurry- 
ing toward  the  other,  and  so  the  ride  was  not  a 
long  one.  The  flashes  from  the  guns  could  now 
be  seen.  Another  rocket,  the  last,  arose  in  the 
air,  at  a  distance  of  not  more  than  several  hun- 
dred feet  away.  Then  numerous  lights  shone. 
A  slight  swell  of  the  ground  hid  them  for  a 
while,  but  when  Stasch  mounted  it  he  found 
himself  face  to  face  with  a  line  of  negroes  hold- 
ing burning  torches  in  their  hands. 

At  the  head  of  the  line  marched  two  Euro- 
peans wearing  English  helmets  and  carrjnng 
guns. 

At  a  glance  Stasch  recognized  Captain  Glen 
and  Dr.  Clary. 


516      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 


CHAPTER   XXV 

THE  expedition  of  Captain  Glen  and  Dr. 
Clary  certainly  was  not  organized  to  seek 
Stasch  and  Nell.  It  was  a  large  and  well- 
equipped  government  expedition,  sent  out  to 
explore  the  northeast  slopes  of  the  giant  moun- 
tain Kilima-Njaro,  and  also  the  but  little 
known  large  tracts  to  the  north  of  this  moun- 
tain. It  is  true  that  the  Captain  and  the  Doctor 
knew  about  the  kidnapping  of  the  children 
from  Medinet  el-Fayoum,  for  English  and 
Arabic  newspapers  had  published  accounts  of 
it,  but  they  thought  that  both  had  died  or  else 
were  languishing  as  prisoners  of  the  Mahdi, 
from  whom  not  a  single  European  captive  had 
regained  his  freedom.  Clary,  whose  sister  was 
married  to  Rawlison  of  Bombay,  and  who  on 
his  trip  to  Cairo  had  been  quite  taken  with  little 
Nell,  missed  her  very  much.  But  they  were 
also  very  sorry  for  the  brave  boy.  They  had 
sent  several  telegrams  from  Mombasa  to  Mr. 
Rawlison  asking  whether  the  children  had  been 
found,  and  only  after  the  last  unfavorable  an- 
swer, which  arrived  some  time  before  the  de- 
parture of  the  caravan,  did  they  finally  give  up 
every  hope  of  finding  them. 

It  never  even  occurred  to  them  that  the  chil- 
dren, who  were  kidnapped  in  distant  Khartum, 
might  turn  up  in  this  district.  But  in  the  even- 
ings, after  the  day's  work  was  over,  they  often 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     517 

conversed  about  them,  for  the  doctor  could  not 
forget  the  beautiful  little  girl. 

Meanwhile  the  caravan  advanced  still  far- 
ther. After  staying  quite  some  time  on  the 
eastern  slopes  of  Kilima-Njaro  and  exploring 
the  upper  course  of  the  rivers  Sabaki  and  Tana, 
as  well  as  the  Kenia  Mountains,  the  captain 
and  the  doctor  turned  off  northward,  and  after 
having  crossed  the  swampy  Guasso-Nyjro, 
came  into  a  wide,  uninhabited  plain,  over  which 
roamed  only  innumerable  herds  of  antelope. 
After  a  journey  of  more  than  three  months,  the 
people  needed  a  longer  rest,  and  so  Captain 
Glen,  after  having  come  to  a  fairly  large  lake 
containing  plenty  of  brown  but  healthy  water, 
ordered  the  tents  to  be  erected  on  its  banks  for 
a  ten  days'  halt. 

During  the  preparations  for  camping  the 
white  people  busied  themselves  with  hunting  and 
sorting  their  geographical  and  natural  science 
notes,  and  the  negroes  fell  into  their  well- 
beloved  idleness.  It  happened  one  day  that 
Dr.  Clary,  rising  early,  and  approaching  the 
shore,  saw  several  Zanzibar  negroes  belonging 
to  the  caravan  with  their  faces  upturned  look- 
ing at  the  top  of  a  tall  tree  and  repeating  over 
and  over  again: 

"Ndege?  Akuna  ndege!  Ndege?"— "A 
bird?    No  bird!  A  bird?" 

The  doctor  was  shortsighted,  so  he  sent  to 
the  tent  for  a  telescope;  then  he  looked 
through  it   at  the   object  to   which   the   ne- 


518      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

groes  pointed,  and  great  surprise  showed  on 
his  face: 

"Call  the  captain  here!"  he  said. 

Before  the  negroes  had  reached  him  the  cap- 
tain appeared  outside  the  tent ;  he  was  about  to 
start  on  an  antelope  hunt. 

"Glen,  look!"  cried  the  doctor,  pointing  up- 
ward. 

The  captain  raised  his  head,  covered  his  eyes 
with  liis  hands,  and  showed  as  much  surprise  as 
did  the  doctor. 

"A  kite!"  he  cried. 

"Yes;  but  negroes  don't  send  up  kites! 
Where  can  it  come  from?" 

"There  may  be  a  settlement  of  white  people 
or  a  mission  in  the  neighborhood " 

"This  is  the  third  day  the  wind  has  blown 
from  the  west,  over  a  region  as  unknown  and 
perhaps  as  uninhabited  as  is  this  jungle.  Be- 
sides, you  know  that  there  are  no  settlements  or 
missions  hereabouts." 

"Indeed,  it  is  very  strange  and  interesting." 

"We  must  certainly  take  down  the  kite." 

"Yes.  Perhaps  then  we  shall  find  out  where 
it  came  from." 

The  captain  gave  a  short  order.  The  tree 
was  several  feet  high,  but  in  a  moment  the 
negroes  had  reached  the  top,  carefully  un- 
fastened the  kite,  taken  it  down,  and  handed 
it  to  the  doctor,  who  examined  it  quickly  and 
said: 

"There's  writing  on  it — let  us  look!" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     519 

And  in  order  to  see  better  he  half  closed  his 
eyes  and  began  to  read: 

Suddenly  his  face  changed  and  his  hand 
trembled. 

"Glen,"  he  said,  "take  that;  read  it  through, 
and  convince  me  that  I  have  not  had  a  sun- 
stroke, and  that  I  am  still  in  my  right  senses !" 

The  captain  took  the  bamboo  frame  to 
which  the  sheet  of  paper  was  attached  and  read 
the  following: 

*'  Nell  Rawlison  and  Stanislaus  Tarkowski,  who  were  sent  from 
Khartum  to  Fashoda,  and  were  transported  from  Fashoda  to  the 
east  of  the  Nile,  have  freed  themselves  from  the  hands  of  the 
Dervishes.  After  a  journey  of  many  months  they  have  arrived  at 
a  lake  which  lies  to  the  south  of  Abyssinia.  They  are  going  to 
the  ocean.     They  beg  for  help." 

And  on  the  other  side  of  the  sheet  was  found 
the  following  postscript: 

"  This,  the  fifty-fifth  kite,  was  sent  up  from  a  group  of  moun- 
tains which  surrounds  a  lake  not  mentioned  in  geography.  Who- 
soever finds  it  should  send  the  news  to  the  canal  administration 
in  Port  Said,  or  to  Captain  Glen  in  Mombasa." 

Stanislaus  Tahkowski. 

When  the  captain's  voice  had  ceased  the  two 
friends  silently  regarded  each  other. 

"What  does  it  mean?"  at  last  asked  Dr. 
Clary. 

"I  can't  believe  my  eyes!"  answered  the 
captain. 

"But  is  there  no  mistake?" 

"No." 

"There  it  is,  plainly  written:  'Nell  Rawli- 
son and  Stanislaus  Tarkowski.'  " 


520      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"There  it  is  as  plain  as  can  be " 


"And  perhaps  they  may  be  in  this  vicinity?" 
"So  God  has  apparently  saved  them." 
"All  thanks  be  to  Him!"  cried  the  doctor  en- 
thusiastically. 

"But  in  what  direction  shall  we  look  for 
them?" 

"Is  there  nothing  more  on  the  kite?" 
"There  were  several  other  words,  but  on  a 
part  torn  by  the  branches;  it  is  hard  to  read 
them." 

Both  leaned  their  heads  over  the  paper,  and 
only  after  a  lengthy  examination  were  they  able 
to  spell: 

"The  rainy  season  has  long  since  passed." 
"What  does  that  mean?"  asked  the  doctor. 
"That  the  boy  has  lost  his  reckoning  of  time." 
"And  in  this  way  he  tried  to  give  the  date 
as  best  he  could." 

"You  are  right.  So  this  kite  can  not  have 
been  sent  up  such  a  very  long  while  ago." 

"If  that  is  the  case,  then  thev  can  not  be 
very  far  off  by  this  time." 

This  feverish,  abrupt  conversation  lasted  a 
little  longer;  then  they  both  began  to  inspect 
the  document  again  and  to  consider  every  word 
written  on  it.  But  it  all  seemed  so  improb- 
able, that  had  it  not  come  from  a  place  where 
not  even  one  European  could  be  found — more 
than  six  hundred  kilometers  distant  from  the 
nearest  coast — the  doctor  and  the  captain 
would  have  been  inclined  to  think  it  a  joke 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     521 

played  by  European  or  mission  children 
after  having  read  in  the  newspapers  about 
the  kidnapping.  Still  it  was  hard  for  them 
not  to  believe  their  eyes;  for  they  had  the 
kite  in  their  hands,  and  the  inscription, 
being  scarcely  blurred  at  all,  was  quite  dis- 
tinct. 

Notwithstanding,  there  were  many  things 
about  it  that  they  could  not  understand. 
Where  could  the  children  have  procured  the 
paper  for  the  kites?  If  they  had  obtained  it 
from  a  caravan,  they  would  have  joined  the 
caravan,  and  so  would  not  have  been  obliged 
to  ask  for  assistance.  Why  had  the  boy  not 
tried  to  escape  to  Abyssinia  with  his  little 
companion  ?  Why  had  the  Dervishes  sent  them 
to  the  east  of  the  Nile  in  an  unknown  country? 
How  had  they  been  able  to  escape  from  the 
Dervishes?  Where  were  they  hiding?  By 
what  miracle  had  they  not  starved  to  death  dur- 
ing this  journey  of  many  months?  By  what 
miracle  had  they  not  become  the  prey  of 
wild  beasts?  Why  had  the  savages  not  killed 
them?  To  all  these  questions  they  could  find 
no  answers. 

"I  can't  understand  it.  I  can't  understand 
it!"  repeated  Dr.  Clary.  "It  surely  is  a  miracle 
of  God's  working." 

"It  would  seem  so!"  answered  the  captain. 

Then  he  added: 

"But  there's  a  fine  boy  for  you!  This  must 
be  his  work!" 


522      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"And  he  did  not  leave  the  httle  one  in  the 
lurch.    God  bless  his  head  and  his  heart." 

"Stanley — yes,  even  Stanley — placed  as  he 
was,  could  not  have  kept  up  over  three  days." 

"And  they  are  still  ahve!" 

"But  they  beg  for  help.  What's  past  is  past. 
We  must  depart  immediately." 

And  so  they  set  out.  On  the  way  the  two 
friends  continually  re-examined  the  document, 
trusting  that  they  might  find  directions  on  it 
to  guide  them  in  going  to  the  children's  assist- 
ance. But  no  such  directions  were  found.  The 
captain  led  the  caravan  in  a  zigzag  path,  hop- 
ing he  might  find  some  trace  of  them — the  re- 
mains of  some  campfire  or  a  tree  with  marks 
cut  into  the  bark.  In  this  way  they  traveled 
on  for  several  days,  when  unfortunately  they 
found  themselves  on  a  treeless  plain,  covered 
with  tall  heather  and  tufts  of  dried  grass.  The 
two  travelers  were  now  very  much  alarmed. 
How  easy,  they  thought,  was  it  to  miss  even 
a  large  caravan  on  these  vast  prairies  and  how 
much  easier  it  was  to  miss  two  children,  who, 
as  they  supposed,  were  creeping  along  some- 
where in  the  tall  heather  like  two  little  worms. 
Another  day  passed.  Neither  the  tin  cans  with 
notes  inside  them  which  they  left  behind  them 
tied  to  bushes,  nor  the  watch-fires  burning  dur- 
ing the  night  were  of  any  avail.  The  captain 
and  the  doctor  from  time  to  time  began  to  lose 
hope  of  ever  finding  the  children ;  indeed,  they 
felt   quite   sure  they   were   no   longer   alive. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     523 

Nevertheless,  they  continued  searching  dili- 
gently for  several  days.  At  last  the  scouts 
whom  Glen  sent  out  to  reconnoiter  brought 
news  that  in  front  of  them  lay  an  absolutely 
arid  desert;  so  when  they  accidentally  came 
across  water  in  a  hollow  of  the  ground  they 
were  obliged  to  halt  to  make  provision  for  the 
coming  journey. 

The  hollow  was  several  feet  deep  and  very 
narrow.  At  its  bottom  a  hot  spring  bubbled 
and  boiled,  for  it  was  saturated  with  carbonic 
gas.  The  water  when  cooled  proved  to  be  good 
and  wholesome.  There  was  so  much  water  in 
the  spring  that  thirty  men  of  their  caravan 
were  unable  to  empty  it.  On  the  contrary,  the 
more  water  they  dipped  out  the  higher  it 
spurted  forth. 

"Perhaps  in  time,"  said  Dr.  Clary,  "invalids 
will  come  here  to  be  cured  by  this  water,  but 
at  present  the  steep  side  of  the  cliff  renders  it 
inaccessible  even  to  animals.  Can  it  be  pos- 
sible that  the  children  have  found  a  similar 
spring?" 

"I  don't  know.  Perhaps  there  are  more  like 
these  in  this  part  of  the  country.  If  not,  the 
children  will  surely  die  of  thirst." 

The  night  approached.  They  lighted  sev- 
eral fires,  but  no  boma  was  erected,  for  they 
could  find  no  materials  with  which  to  build 
it. 

After  supper  the  doctor  and  the  captain  sat 
down  on  camp-stools,  lighted  their  pipes,  and 


524      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

began  to  converse  on  the  subject  that  weighed 
most  heavily  on  their  hearts. 

"Not  the  least  trace!"  Clary  began. 

"It  had  occurred  to  me,"  answered  Glen,  "to 
send  ten  of  our  people  to  the  coast  with  a  tele- 
gram, stating  that  news  from  the  children  had 
been  received.  But  I  am  glad  that  I  did  not 
send  it,  for  the  messengers  would  most  likely 
have  given  out  on  the  way,  and  even  if  they 
had  reached  their  destination,  what  good  would 
it  do  to  raise  false  hopes — — " 


"And  increase  their  grief " 

The  doctor  removed  his  white  helmet  and 
wiped  his  perspiring  forehead.  "Listen,"  said 
he.  "Suppose  we  were  to  return  to  that  lake, 
and  have  niches  cut  in  the  bark  of  the  trees  and 
large  fires  burning  by  night !  Perhaps  the  chil- 
dren would  see  these  signs." 

"If  they  are  in  the  neighborhood  we  would 
not  need  to  take  these  means  to  find  them,  and 
if  they  are  far  away  the  rise  in  the  ground 
would  hide  the  fires.  This  plateau  only  ap- 
pears to  be  level;  in  reality  it  is  covered  with 
ridges  and  waves  like  the  ocean.  Besides,  if 
we  were  to  retrace  our  steps  we  would  lose  all 
hope  of  finding  a  vestige  of  them." 

"Speak  plainly.     You  have  lost  all  hope?" 

"My  friend,  we  are  grown,  strong,  experi- 
enced men;  just  imagine  what  would  have  be- 
come of  us  if  we  had  been  stranded  here  by 
ourselves,  even  if  supplied  with  water,  had  we 
no  provisions  or  men!" 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     525 

"Yes,  unfortunately — yes,  I  can  picture  to 
myself  two  children  traveling  through  the  des- 
ert on  a  night  like  this " 

"Hunger,  thirst,  and  wild  animals " 


"And  yet  the  boy  writes  that  they  have 
dragged  through  long  months  in  this  way." 

"I  can  not  possibly  imagine  it." 

For  a  long  time  all  that  disturbed  the  silence 
of  the  night  was  the  crackling  of  the  tobacco 
in  their  pipes.  The  doctor  stared  into  the  pale 
depth  of  the  night,  and  then  in  a  suppressed 
voice  said: 

"It  is  now  late;  but  I  can  not  sleep. 
And  to  think  that,  if  they  are  still  alive,  per- 
haps they  are  wandering  around  here  some- 
where in  the  moonlight  between  these  dried 
tufts  of  heather — alone — such  young  children ! 
Glen,  do  you  remember  the  angel  face  of  the 
httle  one?" 

"I  remember  it  perfectly,  and  shall  not  for- 
get it." 

"Ah,  I  would  gladly  have  my  hand  cut  off 
if " 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence,  for  Captain 
Glen  jumped  up  as  suddenly  as  if  scalding 
water  had  been  poured  over  him. 

"A  rocket  in  the  distance!"  he  cried.  "A 
rocket!" 

"A  rocket!"  repeated  the  doctor. 

"There  must  be  a  caravan  ahead  of  us." 

"Perhaps  it  has  come  across  the  children!" 

"Perhaps.  Let  us  make  haste  to  meet  them." 


526      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Forward!" 

The  captain's  orders  were  at  once  heard 
throughout  the  camp.  The  Zanzibar  negroes 
sprang  to  their  feet.  Torches  were  lighted, 
and  in  answer  to  the  distant  signals  Glen  or- 
dered rockets  sent  up  in  rapid  succession  and 
shots  to  be  fired. 

In  less  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  entire 
camp  was  on  its  way. 

From  a  distance  were  heard  shots  responding 
to  theirs.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  but 
that  some  European  caravan  was  for  some 
unknown  reason  asking  for  help. 

The  captain  and  the  doctor  ran  as  fast  as 
they  possibly  could,  alternately  hoping  and 
fearing.  Would  they  find  the  children  or  not  ? 
The  doctor  said  to  himself  that  if  they  did  not 
find  them  they  could  at  least  search  for  their 
bodies  in  the  dreadful  heather-fields. 

Half  an  hour  later  one  of  those  ridges  of 
which  they  had  spoken  shut  off  the  view  from 
the  two  friends.  But  they  were  now  so  near 
that  they  distinctly  heard  the  tramping  of 
horses.  A  few  minutes  more  and  a  rider  ap- 
peared on  the  top  of  a  hillock ;  he  held  a  large 
white  object  in  front  of  him  on  the  saddle. 

"Hold  the  torches  high!"  commanded  Glen. 

At  the  same  moment  the  rider  brought  his 
horse  to  a  standstill  within  the  circle  of  lights. 

"Water!    Water!" 

"The  children!"  cried  Dr.  Clary. 

"Water!"  repeated  Stasch. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     527 

And  he  almost  threw  Xell  into  the  arms  of 
the  captain  and  then  he  sprang  out  of  the 
saddle.  The  next  moment  he  staggered  to  the 
ground  as  if  lifeless. 

The  rejoicing  of  the  rescuers  was  boundless, 
but  the  credulity  of  the  two  Englishmen  was 
put  to  a  severe  test,  as  they  had  been  unable 
to  comprehend  how  the  children  by  themselves 
had  been  able  to  travel  over  the  measureless 
tracts  of  land  and  the  deserts  which  separated 
their  present  position  from  the  Nile  and  Fa- 
shoda;  neither  could  they  conjecture  how  "the 
young  Pole,"  as  they  called  Stasch,  could  have 
done  it,  and  how  it  was  that  he  appeared  before 
them  as  the  leader  of  a  large  caravan — armed 
with  European  weapons — with  an  elephant 
who  carried  a  palanquin,  with  horses,  tents,  and 
a  considerable  amount  of  provisions.  At  this 
astounding  sight  the  captain  stretched  out  his 
hands,  saying  over  and  over  again:  "Clary, 
I  have  seen  a  great  deal  in  my  life,  but  never 
a  boy  like  this,"  and  the  good  doctor,  equally 
astonished,  said: 

"And  he  released  the  little  one  from  cap- 
tivity— and  saved  her!"  After  having  made 
this  remark,  he  ran  to  the  tents  to  see  how  the 
children  were  and  if  they  were  sleeping  com- 
fortably. 

After  they  had  had  food  and  drink,  the  chil- 
dren were  undressed  and  put  to  bed,  and  slept 
during  the   whole   of  the   following   day   as 


528      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

soundly  as  if  they  were  dead,  and  so  did  the 
men  belonging  to  their  caravan.  Captain  Glen 
attempted  to  question  Kali  about  their  adven- 
tures and  about  Stasch's  part  in  them,  but  the 
young  negro  merely  opened  one  eye  and  an- 
swered: "The  Great  Man  can  do  everything," 
and  went  to  sleep  again.  So  they  were  obliged 
to  put  off  their  questions  until  the  following 
day. 

Meanwhile  the  two  friends  consulted  with 
each  other  as  to  the  journey  back  to  Mombasa. 
They  had  already  traveled  farther  and  ex- 
plored larger  tracts  than  their  commission 
called  for,  and  so  they  decided  to  return  at 
once.  The  unknown  lake  had  a  great  fascina- 
tion for  the  captain,  but  the  welfare  of  the 
children  and  the  desire  to  take  them  back  to 
their  grief -stricken  fathers  as  soon  as  possible 
turned  the  scales.  The  doctor  insisted  that  at 
present  they  should  take  a  good  rest  on  the  cool 
summits  of  the  Kenia  or  Kilima-Njaro  Moun- 
tains. They  also  decided  not  to  send  word  to 
the  children's  fathers  until  they  reached  the 
mountains,  and  then  tell  them  to  come  to  Mom- 
basa. 

On  the  third  day,  after  they  were  well  rested 
and  had  bathed  several  times,  they  started  on 
their  return  journey.  Now  they  were  obliged 
to  part  from  Kali.  Stasch  convinced  the  little 
one  that  it  would  be  selfish  for  her  to  take  him 
with  them  to  the  ocean,  or  even  as  far  as  Egypt, 
for  even  in  England  Kali  would  be  nothing 


"'Water!      Water  1"    repeated   Stasch." 
"  'The  children  !'  cried  Dr.  Clarv." 


-Page  526. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     529 

more  than  a  servant,  while  if  he  were  to  rule 
over  his  people  he  could,  as  king,  spread  the 
Christian  religion  and  ameliorate  the  savage 
customs  of  the  Wa-himas,  and  not  only  civilize 
them,  but  make  them  good.  He  also  expressed 
similar  sentiments  to  Kali.  Many  tears  were 
shed  at  parting.  Stasch  was  not  ashamed  to 
weep,  for  had  not  he  and  Nell  been  through 
much  happiness  and  misery  in  common  with 
Kali?  And  not  only  had  they  both  learned 
to  appreciate  his  kind  heart,  but  they  had  also 
grown  very  fond  of  him.  The  young  negro  lay 
a  long  time  at  the  feet  of  his  Bwana  Kubwa 
and  of  the  "good  Msimu."  He  turned  back 
twice  to  look  at  them,  but  at  last  the  moment 
of  parting  had  come,  and  the  two  caravans  sep- 
arated, going  in  opposite  directions. 

It  was  only  after  they  were  under  way  that 
the  adventures  of  the  two  little  travelers  were 
told.  Stasch,  who  used  to  be  so  fond  of  boast- 
ing, did  not  sound  his  own  praises  at  all  now, 
for  he  had  accomplished  so  many  things  and 
gone  through  so  much  that  he  had  developed 
sufficiently  to  recognize  that  facts  speak  louder 
than  words — that  deeds  alone,  even  when  told 
as  modestly  as  possible,  speak  for  themselves. 
Daily,  during  the  hot  "white  hours,"  and  even- 
ings in  the  bivouac,  the  events  and  adventures 
which  the  children  had  suffered  passed  before 
the  eyes  of  the  captain  and  the  doctor  like  mov- 
ing pictures.    In  this  way  they  saw  them  car- 


530      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

ried  off  from  Medinet-el-Fayoum,  and  the 
terrible  journey  on  camels  through  the  desert 
— Khartum  and  Omdurman,  which  was  a  hell 
on  earth — and  the  designing  Mahdi.  When 
Stasch  told  how  he  had  replied  to  the  Mahdi 
when  the  latter  wanted  him  to  change  his  re- 
ligion, the  two  friends  arose  and  each  of  them 
in  turn  grasped  Stasch's  right  hand  firmly. 
Then  the  captain  said: 

"The  Mahdi  is  not  living  now!" 

"The  Mahdi  not  living  nowl"  repeated 
Stasch,  surprised. 

"That's  true,"  the  doctor  continued.  "He 
was  suffocated  in  his  own  fat,  or,  properly 
speaking,  he  died  of  fatty  degeneration  of  the 
heart,  and  Abdullah^  has  taken  command." 

A  long  pause  ensued. 

"Hal"  said  Stasch.  "When  he  sent  us  to 
meet  our  death  in  Fashoda  he  had  no  idea  that 
death  would  overtake  him  first." 

And  after  a  while  he  added: 

"But  Abdullah  is  even  more  cruel  than  the 
Mahdi." 

"And  that  has  led  to  the  present  revolts  and 
slaughter,"  answered  the  captain,  "and  the 
whole  structure  of  government  which  the 
Mahdi  erected  is  bound  to  fall  sooner  or  later." 

"And  what  will  happen  then?" 

"England,"  answered  the  captain. 

'  Abdullah's  reign  lasted  ten  years  longer.  The  fatal  stroke 
was  given  to  the  Dervishes  by  Lord  Kitchener,  who,  in  a  bloody 
battle,  nearly  annihilated  thera,  and  razed  the  tomb  of  the 
Mahdi  to  the  ground. 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     531 

During  the  rest  of  the  journey  Stasch  told 
them  about  the  trip  to  Fashoda,  about  the 
death  of  old  Dinah,  their  departure  from  Fa- 
shoda, their  journey  to  uninhabited  districts, 
and  their  search  for  Smain.  When  he  came  to 
the  part  where  he  had  killed  the  lion  and  then 
Gebhr  and  Chamis  and  the  two  Bedouins,  the 
captain  interrupted  him,  exclaiming,  "All 
right!"  and  once  more  grasping  his  right  hand. 
He  and  Clary  continued  to  listen  with  increas- 
ing interest  about  the  taming  of  King,  their 
dwelling  in  "Cracow,"  Nell's  fever,  the  finding 
of  Linde,  and  the  kites,  which  the  children  sent 
up  from  the  Karamajo  Mountains.  The 
doctor,  who  grew  fonder  of  little  Nell  day  by 
day,  was  so  especially  interested  in  all  that 
had  threatened  to  harm  her  that  from  time  to 
time  he  had  to  strengthen  himself  with  a  drop 
of  brandy,  and  when  Stasch  began  to  relate 
how  she  had  nearly  become  the  prey  of  the 
terrible  wobo  he  took  the  little  girl  in  his  arms, 
and  would  not  let  her  go  for  some  time,  as  if 
afraid  that  some  new  beast  of  prey  might 
threaten  her  life. 

What  he  and  the  captain  thought  of  Stasch 
was  expressed  in  two  telegrams  which  they 
sent  off  two  weeks  later  (after  they  had  reached 
the  foot  of  Kilima-Njaro)  by  messengers,  who 
had  orders  to  forward  as  soon  as  possible  to 
the  two  fathers. 

The  first  telegram  was  carefully  worded  and 
sent  to  Port  Said.    It  was  as  follows: 


532      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

"Thanks  to  the  boy,  have  good  news  of  the 
children.    Come  to  Mombasa." 

The  second  was  more  explicit  and  addressed 
to  Aden.    It  read: 

"The  children  are  safe  in  our  hands.  The 
boy  a  hero!" 

They  made  a  halt  of  two  weeks  on  the  cool 
summits  of  Kilima-Njaro,  for  Dr.  Clary  urged 
this  on  account  of  the  health  of  Nell  and  of 
Stasch.  The  children  adored  this  sky-high 
mountain,  which  possessed  every  kind  of 
climate  imaginable.  Its  two  peaks,  Kibo  and 
Mawenzi,  were  usually  clothed  in  thick  mists 
during  the  day,  but  when  the  mists  suddenly 
lifted  on  clear  evenings  the  everlasting  snows 
on  the  summit  of  Mawenzi  shone  with  a  rosy 
glow,  reflected  from  the  sunset,  while  all  the 
rest  of  the  world  was  already  wrapped  in  dark- 
ness— the  mountain  resembled  a  shining  altar 
of  God.  At  this  sight  the  children  uncon- 
sciously folded  their  hands  in  prayer. 

For  Stasch  the  days  of  worry,  anxiety,  and 
trouble  were  over.  They  now  had  a  journey  of 
a  month  before  reaching  Mombasa,  and  the  road 
lay  through  the  beautiful  but  unhealthy  Tawet 
forest.  How  much  easier  was  it  now  to  travel 
over  well-known  roads  with  a  numerous  and 
well-equipped  caravan  than  to  wander  around 
in  an  unknown  wilderness  accompanied  by 
Kali  and  Mea.     Besides,  Captain  Glen  now 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     533 

took  charge  of  the  journey.  Stasch  recovered 
and  went  hunting.  Having  found  a  chisel  and 
hammer  among  the  tools  of  the  caravan,  he  set 
to  work  during  the  cool  hours  to  chisel  on  a 
large  gneiss  rock  the  following  inscription: 
"Poland  is  not  lost  yet!"  for  he  wished  to  leave 
at  least  a  trace  of  their  sojourn  in  this  country. 
The  Englishmen,  to  whom  he  translated  the  in- 
scription, were  surprised  that  the  boy  had  not 
thought  of  perpetuating  his  own  name  by  carv- 
ing it  on  a  rock  in  Africa.  But  he  preferred  the 
sentiments  he  had  chiseled  on  it. 

He  continued  to  protect  Nell,  and  this  gave 
her  such  an  unlimited  confidence  in  him  that 
when  Dr.  Clary  asked  her  whether  she  was  not 
afraid  of  the  storms  on  the  Red  Sea,  the  girl 
rested  her  beautiful  soft  eyes  on  him  and  re- 
plied, "Stasch  will  know  what  to  do !"  Captain 
Glen  said  that  no  one  could  have  given  a 
truer  and  more  beautiful  proof  of  what  Stasch 
was  to  the  little  one  or  given  him  higher 
praise. 

Although  the  first  telegram  sent  to  Mr.  Tar- 
kowski  at  Port  Said  was  very  carefully  worded, 
it  produced  such  a  great  effect  on  Nell's  father 
that  he  nearly  died  of  joy,  and  Mr.  Tarkowski, 
although  an  unusually  demonstrative  man, 
knelt  down  to  pray  and  besought  God  that  this 
news  might  not  be  another  false  clue  or  the  re- 
sult of  a  diseased  imagination  brought  about 
by  their  own  longing  and  their  grief.    For  had 


534      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

they  not  both  done  everything  trying  to  ascer- 
tain if  their  children  were  still  alive?  Mr. 
Rawlison  had  led  caravans  to  the  Sudan,  and 
Mr.  Tarkowski,  dressed  as  an  Arab,  had 
gone  as  far  as  Khartum,  thereby  greatly  en- 
dangering his  life.  Nothing  had  been  of  any 
avail.  Those  who  might  have  given  them  some 
news  had  died  from  smallpox  or  from  hunger 
or  had  been  killed  in  the  bloody  fights  that  were 
continually  being  waged,  and  there  seemed  no 
more  trace  of  the  children  than  if  they  had 
fallen  into  the  water  and  disappeared.  At  last 
both  fathers  gave  up  all  hope  and  only  lived  on 
remembrances,  firmly  convinced  that  there  was 
nothing  in  life  for  them,  and  that  death  alone 
would  reunite  them  to  their  loved  ones,  who 
were  everything  to  them.  When  this  great  joy 
suddenly  came  to  them  it  was  almost  more  than 
they  could  bear;  nevertheless,  it  was  accom- 
panied by  uncertainty  and  surprise.  Neither 
of  them  could  comprehend  how  and  in  what 
manner  the  news  of  the  children  had  come  from 
this  part  of  Africa ;  that  is  to  say,  from  Mom- 
basa. Mr.  Tarkowski  imagined  that  an  Arab 
caravan,  advancing  from  the  eastern  coast 
after  having  been  in  the  interior  hunting  for 
ivory,  had  reached  the  Nile  and  had  either 
bought  their  freedom  or  had  stolen  them.  The 
words  of  the  telegram,  "thanks  to  the  boy," 
they  accounted  for  in  the  following  manner: 
They  conjectured  that  Stasch  must  have  writ- 
ten to  the  captain  and  the  doctor  and  told  them 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     535 

where  he  and  Nell  were  to  be  found.  But  there 
were  many  things  which  it  was  impossible  to 
explain.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Tarkowski 
clearly  saw  that  this  was  not  only  good  news, 
but  very  good  news,  for  otherwise  the  captain 
and  the  doctor  would  not  have  dared  to  arouse 
their  hopes,  and  besides,  they  would  not  have 
told  them  to  come  to  Mombasa. 

The  preparations  for  the  journey  were  soon 
made,  and  on  the  second  day  after  receiving 
the  telegrams  both  engineers,  with  Nell's  gov- 
erness, boarded  a  large  steamer  of  the  Penin- 
sula and  Orient  Company,  which  was  on  its 
way  to  India,  and  stopped  en  route  at  Aden, 
Mombasa,  and  Zanzibar.  In  Aden  a  second 
telegram  awaited  them,  which  read:  "The  chil- 
dren are  safe  in  our  care.  The  boy  a  hero!" 
After  he  had  read  it  Mr.  Rawlison,  nearly  be- 
side himself,  continually  repeated  as  he  grasped 
Mr.  Tarkowski's  hand: 

"You  see — he  saved  her — I  owe  her  life  to 

him "  and  Mr.  Tarkowski  repressed  his 

feelings,  so  as  not  to  appear  weak,  compressed 
his  lips,  and  answered:  "Yes,  the  boy  has  been 
brave,"  and  entering  his  cabin,  he  wept  for  joy. 

At  last  the  moment  came  when  the  children 
threw  themselves  into  the  arms  of  their  fathers. 
Mr.  Rawlison  took  his  regained  treasure  in 
his  arms,  and  Mr.  Tarkowski  held  his  heroic 
boy  pressed  to  his  heart  in  a  long  embrace. 
Their  calamities  had  passed  by  as  hurricanes 


536      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

and  storms  pass  over  the  desert.  Life  was  once 
more  filled  with  sunlight  and  happiness, 
their  longing  and  separation  even  increas- 
ing their  present  rejoicing.  But  the  chil- 
dren were  greatly  surprised  that  their  fathers' 
hair  had  become  quite  white  during  the  sep- 
aration. 

They  returned  to  Suez  on  a  French  boat  of 
the  Messageries  Maritimes,  which  was  crowded 
with  passengers  from  the  islands  of  Reunion, 
Mauritius,  and  from  Madagascar,  and  Zanzi- 
bar. When  the  news  that  there  were  children 
on  board  who  had  been  taken  captive  by  the 
Dervishes  and  escaped  had  become  known, 
Stasch  was  made  the  center  of  general  curiosity 
and  admiration.  But  the  happy  quartet  pre- 
ferred to  shut  themselves  up  in  the  large  cabin, 
which  the  captain  had  given  up  to  them,  and 
pass  the  cool  hours  relating  their  adventures. 
Nell  also  took  part,  chattering  like  a  little  bird, 
and  to  the  great  amusement  of  everybody  she 
commenced  every  sentence  with  "and."  Rest- 
ing on  her  father's  knees  and  raising  her  lovely 
eyes  to  him,  she  talked  somewhat  like  this: 
"And,  papa,  dear!  And  they  carried  us  off 
and  led  us  on  camels — and  Gebhr  beat  me — 
and  Stasch  protected  me — and  we  arrived  in 
Khartum — and  there  people  died  of  hunger — 
and  Stasch  worked,  so  as  to  get  dates  for  me — 
and  we  were  with  the  Mahdi — and  Stasch 
would  not  change  his  religion — and  the  Mahdi 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     537 

sent  us  to  Fashoda — and  then  Stasch  killed  a 
lion  and  all — and  we  lived  in  a  large  tree  called 
"Cracow" — and  King  was  with  us — and  I  had 
the  fever — and  Stasch  cured  me — and  he  killed 
a  wobo — and  conquered  the  Samburus — and — 
papa,  dear — he  was  always  very  good  to 
me 

She  also  spoke  of  Kali,  Mea,  King,  Saba, 
Linde  and  his  mountain,  and  of  the  kite  sent 
up  just  previous  to  meeting  the  captain  and 
the  doctor.  Mr.  Rawlison  could  with  diffi- 
culty suppress  his  tears  during  this  chatter, 
pressed  his  child  more  closely  to  his  heart ;  and 
Mr.  Tarkowski  was  so  overcome  with  pride 
that  he  could  not  control  himself,  for  even 
from  this  childish  talk  it  could  readily  be 
seen  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  ability  and 
energy  of  the  boy  the  little  one  would  have 
been  hopelessly  lost,  not  only  once,  but  many 
times. 

Stasch  gave  an  exact  account  of  everything, 
and  while  telling  of  the  journey  from  Fashoda 
to  the  waterfall,  a  great  load  fell  from  his  chest, 
for  when  he  told  how  he  had  shot  Gebhr  and 
his  followers,  he  stopped  and  looked  uneasily 
at  his  father — but  Mr.  Tarkowski  frowned, 
thought  a  while,  and  then  said  gravely: 

"Listen,  Stasch!  One  ought  never  kill  any 
one,  but  if  any  one  threaten  your  country,  or 
the  life  of  your  mother  or  sister,  or  the  life 
of  a  woman  placed  in  your  care,  then  un- 
questionably   shoot    him,    and    without    any 


538      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

qualms  of  conscience — and  never  feel  any  re- 
morse." 

On  arriving  at  Port  Said  Mr.  Rawlison  and 
Nell  went  to  England,  where  they  took  up  their 
residence.  Stasch's  father  sent  him  to  a  school 
in  Alexandria,  for  there  his  deeds  and  adven- 
tures were  not  so  well  known.  The  children 
wrote  to  each  other  almost  every  day,  but  it 
so  happened  that  they  did  not  see  each  other  for 
ten  years.  After  the  boy  had  completed  his 
studies  in  Egypt  he  attended  the  Polytechnic 
School  in  ZUrich,  and  on  receiving  his 
diploma  engaged  in  tunnel  work  in  Switzer- 
land. 

It  was  ten  years  later,  when  Mr.  Tarkowski 
retired,  that  they  both  visited  their  friends  in 
England.  Mr.  Rawlison  invited  them  to  spend 
the  entire  summer  at  his  house  near  Hampton 
Court.  Nell  had  passed  her  eighteenth  birth- 
day, and  had  grown  up  a  lovely  girl,  blooming 
like  a  rose;  and  Stasch  found,  at  the  cost  of  his 
peace  of  mind,  that  a  man  of  twenty-four  is  not 
too  young  to  think  of  the  ladies.  In  fact,  he 
thought  so  continually  of  the  beautiful  and 
well-beloved  Nell  that  he  felt  like  running  off 
wherever  his  eyes  would  lead  him  and  his  feet 
would  carry  him. 

But  one  day  Mr.  Rawlison,  laying  both  his 
hands  on  the  young  man's  shoulders,  looked 
into  his  eyes  and  said : 

"Stasch,  tell  me.     Is  there  any  one  in  the 


THROUGH  THE  DESERT     539 

world  but  you  to  whom  I  could  trust  her  so 
weU?" 

The  young  Tarkowski  couple  remained  in 
England  till  the  death  of  Mr.  Rawlison.  A 
year  later  they  started  on  a  long  journey.  They 
had  promised  themselves  the  pleasure  of  re- 
visiting the  places  where  they  had  spent  their 
childhood  and  had  wandered  as  youngsters,  so 
they  first  went  to  Egypt.  The  kingdom  of  the 
Mahdi  and  Abdullah  had  long  since  disinte- 
grated, and  after  its  ruin  there  came,  as  Cap- 
tain Glen  had  said,  "England."  A  railroad 
had  been  built  from  Cairo  to  Khartum.  The 
places  which  used  to  be  overflowed  by  the  Nile 
had  been  cleaned  up,  so  that  the  young  couple 
were  able  to  travel  in  a  comfortable  steamer 
not  only  as  far  as  Fashoda,  but  even  to  the 
large  Victoria-Nyanza  Lake.  From  the  town 
of  Florence,  which  lay  on  the  banks  of  this  lake, 
they  took  the  train  to  Mombasa.  Captain  Glen 
and  Dr.  Clary  had  moved  to  Natal,  but  under 
the  good  care  of  the  English  officials  in  Mom- 
basa lived — King.  The  giant  immediately 
recognized  his  former  masters,  and  he  wel- 
comed Nell  with  such  joyous  trumpeting  that 
the  neighboring  mangrove  trees  shook  as 
though  before  a  wind.  He  also  knew  old  Saba, 
who  had  lived  to  almost  twice  the  age  allotted 
to  dogs,  and,  though  half  blind  now,  accom- 
panied Stasch  and  Nell  wherever  they  went. 

Stasch  also  learned  while  there  that  Kali  was 


540      THROUGH  THE  DESERT 

doing  well,  that  he  ruled  under  English  pro- 
tection over  the  whole  territory  south  of  Ru- 
dolf Lake,  and  that  he  had  invited  missionaries 
to  come  into  his  land  to  preach  Christianity 
among  the  savage  natives. 

After  completing  this  final  long  journey  the 
young  couple  returned  to  Europe,  and  taking 
Stasch's  father  with  them,  they  made  their 
permanent  residence  in  Poland. 


PAINTED   BY  BENZIOER   BROTHERS,    KEW  YORK 


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